Return of King Arthur
by Great-Need-to-Take-a-Nap
Summary: What were to happen when Arthur returns in the 21st Century? What's Merlin been up to over the years and how will the reunited duo help to protect Albion and bring back magic in these modern times? Contains some Whump on Arthur and Merlin, Merlin/Freya later on, and an OC. Merthur Bromance mostly but Romance if you wear goggles. Rated T to be safe.
1. Return of Arthur

**I've written plenty of fanfiction before but this is my first Merlin fic. I was rewatching Merlin when I thought about what would happen when Arthur was to return. And I just had to do this. But I don't do it alone. All the writing is mine but one of my dearest friends is helping me creating the plot lines and some of the characters as well.**

**By her recommendation, a version of myself will be in it, but she won't appear till chapter two. Also, this can kind of be considered a crossover but not entirely. Tom Hopper who played the amazing Sir Percival was also a one episode character in Doctor Who and it was decided that he will be joining the plot later on. I've got something in mind for it.**

**Be warned, this is going to be a long one. I plan on making it at least 50 chapters long with plenty of feels. It's going to include Arthur, Merlin, and others going on different adventures in the 21st century as well as little snippets here and there of Merlin during his long wait for Arthur's return.**

**Anyway, even of this long explanation, here's the first chapter!**

**A/N: I have edited this chapter since the original publish and a few things may have been changed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin at all. **

**Also I've added little thoughts in italics, meaning that's what they thought word for word in their head.**

* * *

2014\. At least 1600 years had passed since the battle at Camlann. And Merlin lived through them all. Assisting every king and queen in any way that he could, even if they wouldn't listen to him. Merlin was a changed man as he sat in the grass, looking towards Avalon. Over the years, he'd learned to change his appearance as he wished from old to young with ease. As he felt in his heart that today was the day for his friend to return, he looked as he did all those years ago. The only change was attire.

A black t-shirt underneath a black leather jacket, with matching jeans and boots. Though he appeared young, his eyes showed the many years he'd lived. After two more hours, his wait was finally over. Ten feet in front of him, a glimmer of armor appeared and Arthur could be seen lying on his back. It looked as if time had not touched the king. The hole in his chainmail where Mordred had struck was still there, but the fatal wound was gone.

Though unconscious, Arthur breathed slowly as Merlin ran towards his friend. The bag he was carrying landed with a soft thud as he knelt beside Arthur's sleeping form, waiting for him to wake. A breeze kicked up that bit at Merlin's skin, making him shiver in his jacket lightly. The king stirred, his eyes fluttering open.

"Merlin?"

"Welcome back, Arthur."

* * *

Arthur slowly regained consciousness. Though he didn't expect to. Nor did he expect to no longer be in Merlin's arms. He could feel that he was lying flat on the ground. _When did that happen?_ Another difference was his fatal wound. He couldn't feel any pain as he breathed like he had just moments before. Or at least what he thought had been moments. Had Merlin done it then? Did they make it to the lake in time? A cool breeze pulled him further into consciousness and he stirred, slowly opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Merlin staring at him with a smile. Though his hair was a little longer and he was in all black. _When did he find time to change? And why into something so ridiculous?_

"Merlin?" Merlin smiled wider at him in response.

"Welcome back, Arthur." Once again, Arthur looked over his friend's appearance.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Arthur asked, sitting up to get a proper look at him. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Clothes." _You know that's not what I meant you idiot. _"Speaking of which…" Merlin grab a bag, or what Arthur assumed was a bag but not one he'd ever seen before and started to go through it, pulling out a pair of blue trousers that looked to be the same sort of material as Merlin's. But blue instead of black. "We need to change yours. Can't be walking around dressed like that." Arthur looked at his chainmail, not understanding. He almost always wore chainmail, what was wrong with that?

"And why the hell not?"

"We don't need everyone asking where the Renaissance Fair is." Merlin commented with a smirk. But Arthur just blinked a few times, thinking he must have misheard him. He had no idea what a Renaissance Fair was.

"The…what?"

"Nothing." Merlin let out a small chuckle as he laid out the strange clothes on the grass. Arthur watched him for several moments. Something was off. He could tell. There was something Merlin was clearly not telling him. His hand went to the hole in his armor, mindlessly touching the nonexistent wound.

"What happened?" Merlin shifted slightly. "The last thing I remember…I was dying." Arthur tried and failed to catch Merlin's gaze. "Did you-"

"No." Merlin interrupted him and Arthur paused. "You…erm…" He was clearly reluctant to continue, but Arthur held his stare, determined to find out what Merlin wasn't telling him. Finally, Merlin gave a small sigh. "You died. About 1600 years ago." Arthur tensed, his heart nearly stopping in his chest and he sat up straighter. An invasion of emotions and thoughts flooded through his head. _Over a thousand years. Oh gods. How? _He felt a hand firmly grip his shoulder. "Arthur?"

"I…..ex-explain." he muttered, looking up at Merlin.

Taking a few breaths, Merlin looked down. "You didn't make it. You died and I laid your body to rest in Avalon. But I was told you would come back. When Albion needed you most. I'd have thought it'd be during the 1900's but….guess that wasn't the worst. It's 2014." He let that sink in for a moment before looking up at Arthur. "As far as I know, it's just you and me. I've been here the whole time waiting for you but…." Merlin bit his lower lip, the rest coming out in a small whisper. "Camelot's gone. And so is everyone else. It's all gone."

Arthur's breath hitched in his throat. Everyone was gone. Suppose it made sense, over a thousand years and all but it didn't matter to Arthur. Merlin had time to adjust but for him, they were alive just minutes ago. He knew he'd never see Guinevere again, but because he was dying. But now he's alive and she isn't.

He had to blink tears away before he remembered all that Merlin had said.

"You…you've been waiting for over a thousand years? Right here?" Merlin again rolled his eyes.

"Well no. Not _right here_. But in general, yes. Been helping where I can. It…hasn't been easy."

"Meaning?"

"Nothing. It can wait. Let's get you changed and we can ride to my place and talk." Merlin helped Arthur up and helped him changed as the king was more than confused about modern clothes and didn't know what a zipper was. Once finished, he was wearing regular jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a red hoodie that zipped up. "There. Now you look normal." Merlin commented as he shouldered the bag and picked up the discarded armor and chainmail.

"Personally I think I look ridiculous. Now where are the horses?" Arthur asked, fussing with the strings on the hoodie. Merlin gave him a confused look for a moment.

"Oh, right. Horses…yeah. This way." He started walking off as Arthur followed. Parked down the road was a blue Honda CR-V. But to Arthur it looked like a big blue metal…thing. Arthur paused as Merlin pulled keys from his pocket and pressed a button which made the thing beep, and tossed the armor in the back. Merlin looked back at Arthur and smiled. "Come on."

Hesitantly, the King walked up to the car. "It's no horse, but it's faster. It's called a car. Get in front." Merlin informed him as something sounded off, coming from Merlin's pocket. "Oh, hold on. Gotta take this." Arthur slowly sat in the passenger seat, watching his friend as he took out the loud object and talked into it. "Hello? Yeah, everything's fine. Already took care of it. About that, I've got some news. I'll tell you when I get back. Yeah. Alright, see you then." Merlin put the thing away and got into the seat next to him that had a wheel.

Arthur simply looked at him, not quite sure what was going on. Merlin smiled and clicked on a long bit of material that looked to hold him to the seat, slowly, so Arthur could do the same. After a little help with the buckling part, Arthur too had his chest belt thing on and preceded to clear his throat, looking at Merlin pointedly. It was clear that the King was waiting for an explanation for Merlin having a conversation with an odd device. "Oh, sorry. That was my apprentice…"

Merlin pulled the object back out and showed it to Arthur. "It's called a phone. It's not magic, but it's a form of…communication. I just dial-sorry press the numbers to call someone and I can talk to them with it." After a moment Arthur nodded, somewhat understanding before giving his friend a quizzical look.

"Apprentice? You're teaching someone how to….use magic?" he asked, watching Merlin carefully.

"Yes. And she's really good. She's just….you'll find out." Merlin commented. Arthur was about to respond when a something flew overhead, low enough to shake the car lightly. Jumping in his seat and looking out the window, Arthur's eyes widened dramatically. It was giant and metal.

"Merlin! What is that great metal beast?!"

"What?" Merlin paused as he hardly noticed the disturbance of the giant monster above them and looked out at what Arthur was pointing at. "Oh. Oh yeah. Dangerous that is. It can eat hundreds of people at a time." he teased, causing Arthur to look at him with a horrified expression. After a silent moment, Merlin broke out laughing. "Oh, come off it! I'm only joking. It's harmless. Not even a beast. It's an airplane. It's another form of transport. Like this car."

"Wait. Hold on. Are you telling me there's people inside that thing?!" Merlin nodded and started the car, the sound of which made Arthur jump again. "Damn it, Merlin! A little warning next time! I nearly died of fright!"

"Wow. You're really going to love the 21st Century." Merlin noted sarcastically. It took almost an hour or so for Arthur to calm down and get used to the feeling of riding in the car and the other cars around them on the road. By that time, they'd reached the southern outer limits of what Merlin said was London. Trading the countryside for the busy city. Arthur quickly became occupied by looking out the window, taking in all the unfamiliar sites. Tall metal buildings with way too much glass in his opinion. People crossing marked streets when a light changed color, the cars doing the same.

Eventually, he settled to leaning back in the seat as he watched the cars driving next to them and the people along the city streets. "What happened, Merlin?"

"To Camelot? Or to everything?" Arthur thought about that for a moment.

"Both…I guess."

Merlin took a second before answering. "Eventually, Camelot fell to Saxons. Few hundred years after you died. There's been plagues and wars across Europe. The discovery of the New World, Salem witch trials, revolutions, two world wars. All the while inventions have grown. In one century alone, we advanced from horses to trains, to cars and planes. Phones, television. And a lot of….other things….." Merlin drifted off, not continuing.

Arthur watched him for several moments and gave a small sigh. It was clear that his friend had been through a lot, even if he wouldn't outright say it. Which he never did. And it was obvious that he wasn't going to continue with what he was saying so Arthur decided to change the subject. "So….this apprentice of yours. What's her name?"

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**There you go! Not much, but I thought it was good. Next chapter will be uploaded ASAP once I finish and edit it. Please leave a review telling me what you think! I'll also take recommendations and suggestions on things!**


	2. The Apprentice

**Here's the new chapter! I really like this one and I think it turned out really well.**

**AN: This chapter has been edited since original posting and a few things may have changed.**

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"Margaret. Her name's Margaret." Merlin smiled, grateful for the change of subject. "She can be difficult at times but she means well. And she has a good heart, even though it can be hard to see at times. You'll see. She grows on you," he explained.

"She sounds great. A bit like you actually." Arthur commented with a small smile. "So, how long has she been your apprentice?" he asked, still trying to wrap his head around the idea. For Arthur, a few days ago, Merlin was his servant and just found out about his magical abilities and then died in his arms. Now, over a thousand years had passed in the blink of an eye and Merlin seemed to have a completely different life. Even an apprentice. It was all a bit much to be honest but he figured he'd have to try and adjust to everything.

"A few years." Arthur gave a small nod. In a way, he was still trying to accept magic. He had already accepted it with Merlin. But other people? Sure, he's seen others use magic for good but those were few and far between. The majority of his life has been attacked and betrayed by those with magic and Arthur couldn't help but to feel a little apprehensive about the idea of Merlin teaching someone magic.

"And you trust her?" The question fell from his lips before he'd had a chance to think about it. Arthur turned to look at Merlin who spared him a glance before his eyes went back to the road.

"With my life." Again, Arthur found himself nodding and returned to looking out the window. He watched everything pass by with critical eyes, hoping to see something familiar in any way. But with no such luck. Even the street were foreign to him. The tall metal buildings, a few were made of stone but not many. Everyone's clothes were drastically different than what he was used to seeing. Instead of horses pulling carts there were other 'cars' as Merlin called them, all different shapes and colors. Nothing was the same. The only thing remotely familiar was Merlin. And even he was different.

The silence between them was suddenly screaming at him. Even at the worst of times, Merlin had something to say. Most of the time it was something stupid or obvious, but at least it was something. Looking at him now, Arthur could tell that his friend was lost in thought. But more so, he could see the slight differences in Merlin. First of all, he wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked almost worried. The way he was seated looked relaxed but Arthur could tell that he was tense. His raven black hair was a bit longer than he remembered. And his eyes. It wasn't just the age he could see in them, but the way they were darting around, examining every passing car, every person crossing the street. Arthur couldn't help but to wonder what the hell had happened.

Then again, it wasn't like Merlin would say. He never did. Arthur wasn't completely stupid. He knew Merlin would rather bottle things up rather than say something was bothering him.

"Idiot."

"Prat." Merlin responded automatically. A small smile appeared on his face, sparing Arthur another glance. Arthur let out a small sigh of relief and chuckled.

"Good. Glad that's not changed."

* * *

"Good. Glad that's not changed." Merlin glanced at Arthur again, raising his eyebrow slightly. After a brief moment, he let out a small sigh. He quickly realized how overwhelming all of this must be and he wasn't exactly helping matters.

"Sorry. Just…a lot on my mind."

"I can tell. I've never seen you this quiet." Arthur commented, looking out the window once more. The busy city was winding down into the suburbs. Two and three story houses were lining the streets. A few people were walking here and there, and one or two of them were talking into their mobiles. "Where are we going?"

"I've got a house on the north side of London. I live there with my apprentice. We'll clear up one of the spare rooms for you." Arthur couldn't help but laugh a little. Merlin looked at him curiously with a small smile, wondering what he found funny. "What?"

"Just you. Owning a house." Merlin's smiled went a little wider.

"I don't really own it. The royal family has been housing me in different places for centuries. It's no Buckingham Palace, but it's bigger than what I had in Camelot and it's free so I don't complain." Merlin explained slowly.

"Buckingham Palace?" Merlin glanced back at him. There was so much that he was going to have to explain. So many things had changed since they'd last seen each other and he didn't really know if there was enough time in the world to explain everything to Arthur.

"It's where the Queen lives when she's not at Windsor. We passed it a few miles back." Turning left, Merlin slowed to a stop in front of an elaborate two story home. A bed of green grass with a stone path led up to it. A few vines snaked up the sides and gave it a warm and homely feel. "Here it is." Merlin unbuckled and got out, Arthur following. Getting the armor out of the back of the car, he led the fair haired king up to the front door. Not bothering with a key, Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the door opened.

Inside, a white walled hallway led to an open spaced living room with a large tan two piece sofa winding against the corner facing a flat screen TV on the wall. On the sofa, reading a book, was a young reddish blonde haired girl. She looked to be in her early twenties and was dressed in skinny jeans and a red tank top with a black jacket. She didn't bother to look up as they entered the room.

"Took you long enough. I was starting to worry." she muttered sarcastically with an American accent. Merlin rolled his eyes as he walked over to her, tossing the armor to a spot next to her.

* * *

"Hello to you too." Merlin smiled before glancing at Arthur. "I've got a surprise." At this, she looked up from her book, eyes flickering between the two men in front of her. Arthur was almost startled at how blue they were. The irises were like an icy sky with streaks of deep blue forcing their way to the center. "This, is Arthur." Merlin held out him hands out as if to say 'ta da', a bright smile on his face.

"Weasley?" she responded, leaving Arthur confused and raising his eyebrows before glancing at Merlin. Merlin scoffed, dropping his arms exasperatedly.

"No. Why would it be Arthur Weasley? This isn't bloody Hogwarts!" he commented, running a hand through his hair. Now, Arthur was officially lost. _What the hell is Hogwarts?_ "It's Arthur Pendragon." Arthur gave a small wave of greeting and she smiled slightly, putting the book down and standing up. She walked up to Arthur and sized him up.

"I thought he'd be taller." she noted. Merlin audibly sighed and walked over to them.

"Arthur, this is Margaret. A constant thorn in my side." Margaret smiled and held out her hand to Arthur which he gladly took.

"I'm only pulling his leg as usual. I'm his apprentice. I've already got one of the rooms ready for you." Merlin looked at her for a moment.

"But….you didn't even know that he was coming." Margaret sighed at this.

"On the phone, when I asked if anything happened during your weekly visit to the lake, you said you had some news." she stated as if it were obvious. To be honest, that did make it a little obvious in Arthur's opinion. "There's really only one thing that could mean. Sometimes it amazes me that you're the greatest wizard to walk the Earth, because there's moments when you're just bone dead stupid."

Arthur smiled and laughed, looking at Merlin. "I like her."

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**And there's chapter two! Hope you all enjoyed it. As always, reviews are adored and suggestions are accepted. I've already received several suggestions that I thought were really good and I'm thinking about using them.**

**Anyway, I'll update soon with chapter 3. Promise!**


	3. Settling In Part I

**I know it's a bit late, so I do apologize for that. This chapter was actually a little difficult to write so I've decided to split it into two parts. The second part will be uploaded within the next week or so. Anyway, enjoy!**

**AN: This chapter has been edited since first posted and a few things may have changed.**

* * *

"Tell you what. I'll let you two get to know each other, and I'll make sure the room is set up how he likes." Merlin commented.

"Upstairs. Second bedroom on the left." Margaret informed him and Merlin muttered his thanks before heading up the stairs. "While he does that, how about I make you some food. I assume you're hungry?" Arthur nodded, suddenly realizing that he was. He hadn't realized it before but he was practically starving. It did make sense though. He hadn't actually eaten in over a thousand years, even if it didn't feel that long to him. _Over a thousand years. Bloody hell._

"Starving, actually." Margaret smiled and led him to a large kitchen that opened up into a dining room. She gestured for Arthur to sit at the table before walking over to a large silver box things that when opened revealed food and drinks. He slowly took a seat at the large table and watched her curiously.

"It's almost noon so I was about to make lunch anyway. What would you like?"

"Anything is fine." She nodded and started taking out what looked to be already sliced and bagged ham.

"Would you like some coffee?" Margaret asked, looking over with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Coffee?" Arthur asked, wanting to slam his head on the table for not understanding, well, everything. She looked at him almost sympathetically.

"Oh, right. Must not have had that in Camelot. It's a drink." she smiled, holding the clear pot up, gesturing to the dark liquid. He had no idea what kind of drink it would be but might as well. He was going to have to learn what it was sooner or later.

"Oh…sure." he smiled.

"Since you've never had it before, I'll dull down the taste." she smiled back, pouring some into a mug. Margaret then pulled out some cream and four lumps of sugar, adding it to the drink. Hiding her smirk with a polite smile, she walked over to the table and handed it to him. "Careful, it's a bit hot." Margaret warned before going back to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Arthur nodded his thanks and took a hesitant sip. The hot liquid coursed down his throat pleasantly, leaving a sweet taste with a slight bitter twinge. "It's a bit different. But it's good." he noted, drinking more. Margaret was just finishing the ham sandwiches when there was nothing left of the coffee. Arthur fidgeted as she placed a plate with two sandwiches in front of him. He found that he couldn't sit still all of sudden. Taking a large bite of food, he smiled, and was practically shaking in his chair. "It's good." he muttered quickly. He felt very jittery all of a sudden and glanced around rapidly as he ate, looking at the décor of the room. But he couldn't really focus on it, only that there were a few paintings on the light blue walls and other decorations.

Margaret was literally holding her breath to stop herself from laughing, but Arthur didn't know what she thought was so funny. It couldn't have been anything he said. Just then, Merlin called their names from the base of the stairs. "In here!" she called back and set out a plate for him and herself before sitting down to eat her lunch. Merlin walked in and observed the scene in front of him and gave Margaret a stern look, much like Gaius used to give him and everyone else in Camelot when they did something he didn't approve of. Merlin even managed to mick the eyebrow slightly. "What?" she asked, feigning innocence, still trying not to laugh. Arthur looked between the two as he ate, bouncing in his seat. Merlin just stared at Margaret, folding his arms across his chest.

"What did you give him?" He walked over to Arthur and looked into the now empty mug. "Coffee? Seriously?"

"It was good, I feel great." Arthur sputtered out rapidly, finishing his food. "I could-I could run for miles." Margaret let out a small, strangled laugh, turning her head away.

"You didn't tell him about the caffeine did you? He's going to be bouncing off the walls for hours." _Caffeine? What the hells that?_ Arthur thought to himself as he looked between them.

* * *

"It was just one cup of coffee…" she tried, still stifling laughter at the site of Arthur looking between them, unable to sit still for one second.

"One of your cups of coffee. First time I had your coffee, I was twitching for almost a week." Merlin noted, ignoring her quiet comment of 'go big or go home'. "Alright, we're going to the living room. Gotta do something with him." Arthur jumped up and followed Merlin out. Margaret took a few more bites of her sandwich before doing the same. In the living room, Merlin sat Arthur on the couch and turned on the TV. He then pulled out three controllers and Margaret scoffed.

"Mario Kart? Are you serious?"

"It's simple and it'll keep him occupied. Now sit." Margaret did as he said, watching him turn on the game before handing each of them a controller, taking a seat between her and Arthur.

"What's this?" Arthur asked quickly, looking curiously at the device. It took several minutes for Merlin to explain everything to him, mostly because he was too hyped on caffeine to really pay attention to anything Merlin was saying. After Arthur was able to understand the basics and what he was doing, Merlin started the game. To make it interesting, Margaret decided to choose Rainbow Road. Which caused Arthur's character to fall off the track literally every two seconds. But luckily enough, it was in fact using all his energy from the coffee; what with him jumping up and down, shouting, and ranting at how difficult the game was. Eventually, after several hours of 'Oh! Not again!'s and 'Merlin! That's not fair, your person is bigger!' Arthur was finally crashing from the caffeine high. The effect of which made his driving even worse than before if that was possible. Another half hour and Arthur leaned against Merlin, his head lolling onto the warlock's shoulder, fast asleep.

"You're never giving him coffee again." Merlin scolded Margaret lightly, who was smiling at the pair as she took the controllers and turned the game off. "Help me get him to his new bed." The two of them half dragged, half carried Arthur up the stairs and into the room that had been prepared for him. It was decently sized with dark blue walls lined with a few shelves and large windows that faced the city. The view of which was currently blocked by thick curtains that matched the walls. Instead of a wardrobe, there was a walk-in closet. A large bed, nearly equal to the one he had in Camelot, took up only a quarter of the room. On the wall opposite the bed was a deep brown dresser. On either side of the bed were two bedside tables. There was nothing on them and all the shelves were empty but the closet was full of clothes and shoes and the dresser drawers were filled with socks and underwear.

With Margaret's help, Merlin dressed Arthur in a pair of red pajamas and threw his dirty clothes in a hamper that was right next to the closet. Once that was done, they settled him into bed, pulling the covers over him. Throughout all this, Arthur hardly stirred and curled beneath the blankets, unaware of the two sorcerers watching him.

* * *

"He's going to need help adjusting to everything, you know." Margaret commented, glancing at Merlin. He simply stared at Arthur's sleeping form, only giving a small nod. He carried a slightly worried look on his face as watched his slumbering friend. Knowing that look all too well, Margaret gave a small sigh and walked over to Merlin. "What's wrong? He's back, I thought you'd be happy about that."

"I am. It's just…" Merlin took a moment, and Margaret waited patiently for his response. She knew how hard it was from him to state his worries, even after knowing her for a small number of years. "Him being back. That means Albion's time of greatest need…" Margret nodded, immediately understanding.

"You're worried things are about to get much worse than ever before?" Merlin nodded, still not taking his eyes off of Arthur. But she knew there was more to it than that. Margaret pulled him into a warm embrace, rubbing his back soothingly. He gratefully accepted the hug, tearing his eyes from Arthur's sleeping form and hiding his face in her shoulder. "No matter how bad it gets, Merlin, we'll get through it. It's your destiny to help Arthur create Albion. To guide and watch over him."

"Yeah, because I did such a good job last time." There it was. "I got him killed, Margaret." He responded into her shoulder, trying to hide the breaking of his voice.

"No. Merlin, you didn't."

"But Mordred-"

"No. Merlin, stop that. He was just a child when you were warned about him. You had no choice but to let him live. Anyone would have done the same," she countered quickly, already knowing the argument he'd constructed against himself. "What Mordred did was his own doing, not yours. You need to stop blaming yourself for others mistakes."

Merlin didn't say anything but nodded his head slowly.

* * *

Arthur woke at 3am according to the green light about a foot afar from him, in an unfamiliar bed, wearing unfamiliar clothes in pitch black. He let out a panicked breath, sitting up quickly before the last days events came back to him. Now that he was alone, an overwhelming sense of grief and fear washed over him. Leaning back into the soft sheets, the tears rolled down his face without stop. The reality of it all hit him. Camelot was gone. Everyone was gone. Dead. Nothing but dust. And there was nothing left of what he once knew. Nothing but Merlin and himself. A few strangled sobs escaped him and he let his emotions run free. As King, and a royal all his life, he'd learned to bury his feeling. But the grief he felt was so overwhelming. Besides, Camelot was gone. He wasn't a King anymore as there was nothing to be King of, so why bother to be proper and an example to others by hiding his emotions and not showing weakness. There was no reason for it anymore. Arthur lost track of time as the sobs racked his body and he grieved the loss of everything, everyone he once knew when a soft, almost hesitant knock came at the door to the room. Taking a moment to try and compose himself, he sat up in the bed, wiping the tears away with his hands.

"Y-Yes?" He couldn't really see anything but he heard the faint click of the door opening.

"Arthur?" came a soft voice in an accent he couldn't place, American he would later discover, and recognized it as Merlin's apprentice, Margaret.

"Come in." The door closed and he heard her slow footsteps and the room lit up when she placed her hand on the white rectangle on the wall, turning the lights on, nearly blinding him as his eyes had become accustomed to the dark night. Margaret stood near the door wearing fuzzy deep blue pajamas and matching bunny slippers, her red hair done up in a ponytail. Arthur sat straighter on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.

"My room's right next to yours. I…I heard you." she commented slowly, looking a bit uncomfortable. Most likely due to the fact that she didn't know him all that much, he figured. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." he lied horribly, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry to have woken you."

"You didn't." Margaret reassured him as she slowly walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. "And no, you're not." she corrected with a small smile. "You woke up over a thousand years after dying in your friends arms, everything has changed, everyone you knew is gone, and nothing is familiar to you." she noted softly. "No one would be fine."

"You're very perceptive."

"It's a gift." she joked and Arthur gave a small laugh.

"Where's Merlin?" he asked, wiping at his eyes once more as a few stray tears leaked out.

"Asleep. Two doors down." Arthur nodded. "It's around 3:30 in the morning so he won't be awake for several more hours." Margaret explained.

"How come you're up, then?" Arthur asked, looking at her curiously.

"Couldn't sleep, so I decided to study."

"Study magic, right?" he questioned, trying to hide his worry at the idea. She simply nodded. "If…you don't mind my asking, why did you decide to study magic?" Margaret smiled softly at the question.

"Just sort of happened. I'd been able to kind of use most of my life, but I didn't know what it was. Because of it I got myself into trouble a few years back. And Merlin saved my life. With magic. After that, he took me in, started to teach me and show me a better way to live. At first…I wanted to use my gifts to get revenge." Arthur visibly shifted uncomfortably at that but she continued. "But he stopped me. Taught me what it should be used for. I owe him everything." She explained, looking down at her hands the whole time, fidgeting slightly. After a moment, Margaret looked up at him, her blue eyes staring into his. "It's good that you're back. He may be worried, but he really missed you." Arthur paused at that.

"He's worried. About what?"

"You, mostly. He feels he failed you at Camlann and he's terrified that he'll do so again."

"Merlin didn't fail me. What happened…happened. I don't blame him."

"But he blames himself. After everything he did, everything he went through, and in the end, he couldn't protect you." Arthur gave her a confused look. "You…have no clue what all he's done for you, do you? All he's sacrificed." He shook his head.

* * *

**And there it is! As always, reviews are adored and welcome at all times! And if you have suggestions my inbox is always open. Next chapter coming soon!**

**xxx**


	4. Settling In Part II

**Sorry this one took a bit longer than usual but I promise it's worth it. Longest chapter so far and I plan t make them this long in the future. This one's got some feels as well as more background between Margaret and Merlin so you understand more about their relationship. Warning: Tiny bit of Merlin!Whump in this chapter.**

* * *

Merlin didn't wake up till 9 in the morning. For a moment he just laid there in bed as he always did until he remembered one thing. One thing that immediately put a smile on his face. Arthur's alive. He jumped out of bed, quickly dressing in an old pair of jeans and a gray button up before heading down stairs. Arthur was sitting on the couch, already dressed, and talking to Margaret when he entered the living room. Arthur looked up and put on his best King posture.

"Up late as usual, M_er_lin?" the warlock in question rolled his eyes as Margaret let out a small laugh.

"What are you two talking about?" Merlin asked without answering Arthur's taunt.

"You." Margaret responded, standing up and walking over to him. "Breakfast is in the kitchen and he's got a lot of questions for you." she warned, starting to head up the stairs.

"And where are you going?" he questioned, watching her. She paused, obviously not wanting to say before slowly turning around to face him.

"Did I not tell you?" she asked innocently. "I've….kinda got a date." Arthur raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "In about two hours so I better g-"

"A date?" Merlin asked, staring at her. "You never said anything about a date. Have I met him? What's his name? Where does he work? Where'd you meet-"

"Merlin." She stopped him, rolling her eyes. "This is why I didn't say anything. His name's Jeff. No you haven't and it's none of your business." He wasn't going to let her get off so easily on this and started to continue his small interrogation.

"I want to know-"

"Merlin." This time it was Arthur who had spoken. He stood up and walked over to them. "I'm sure it's fine. She's an adult, yes? Get off her back. Besides, like she said, I've got a lot of questions for you so let's leave her to get ready and go to the kitchen." Margaret had taken the time that Arthur talked to mouth a thank you to him before running up the stairs to avoid further questioning. Before Merlin had a chance to argue, Arthur grabbed his arm and pulled him to the kitchen. "You've got a lot of explaining to do." Merlin grumbled slightly but followed him to the kitchen/dining room. Arthur sat down at the table as the warlock helped himself to some eggs and sausages that were on the stove before sitting across from him.

"What all did she tell you?" Merlin asked accusingly but Arthur stopped him from continuing any further.

"She told me that you'd sacrificed a lot for me and I asked her what she meant. She didn't go into much detail though." Merlin nodded slowly. "I think…..perhaps if you start from the beginning. To make it easier." Arthur suggested. And so he did. Merlin slowly began to tell him everything as he mindlessly picks at his breakfast, occasionally taking a bite when Arthur stop him to ask a question. Started off with how he was born with magic, coming to Camelot, meeting the dragon. Arthur quickly figured out that it was Merlin who had set him free and they exchanged words until another realization crossed Arthur as Merlin mentioned him being a Dragonlord and stopping Kilgarrah, instead of Arthur killing him like he originally thought."Balinor…he…Merlin don't tell me he was…" Merlin nodded his head, confirming what Arthur was thinking. "I told you no man was worth your tears."

* * *

"It's fine, Arthur. You didn't know." Merlin reassured him before continuing with the story before Arthur could interrupt again. As every minute passed, Arthur began to see what Margaret had meant. How much Merlin had done for him. Soon, a feeling of guilt washed over him. For years he'd teased and taunted Merlin. Called him useless and a coward. Even ignored him when he tried to warn Arthur about threats to Camelot and people betraying him. It was no wonder that it took Merlin so long to tell him the truth. To tell him about his magic. Arthur hadn't really given him any reason to think he'd trust him enough not to turn against him. How many times had he ranted to Merlin about the evils of magic? And yet, nearly every day, his live was saved and protected by it. By Merlin. Arthur wondered how on Earth he put up with him. The warlock in question quickly mentioned the name Freya when Margaret walked in.

Her strawberry blonde hair had a slight wave to it, flowing over her shoulders gracefully. She wore 3 inch heels so she stood at 5"11 and a slim royal blue dress hugged her figure and made her striking blue eyes stand out even more. Arthur became slightly distracted when he caught sight of her, his mouth gaping open like an idiot. Merlin noticed the change in Arthur and turned around, staring at his apprentice.

"How do I look?" she asked, blushing slightly under their non-wavering gazes.

"Great…you…I mean…wow." Arthur stammered out, causing Margaret to smirk. Merlin however managed a more intelligent response.

"Gorgeous. As always. A bit tight, don't you think?" She rolled her eyes.

"That's the point, Merlin." Margaret pointed out as a knock sounded at the front door. "That'll be him." Merlin moved to get up but she quickly stopped him. "Oh, no you don't. Last thing I need is for you to interrogate him like you did the last one." He opened his mouth to say something in argument but she was already leaving the room. "Be back later!" she called before running out. After Arthur had regained his wits he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"What?" Merlin asked, looking at him.

"You. If I didn't know any better, Merlin, I'd say you were worried about her."

"Course I am. She causes trouble where ever she goes." Arthur raised an eyebrow at that.

"A bit like you then. So, where were we?" Merlin paused at the question, staring at his now abandoned breakfast. "Merlin?"

"You know, we can finish this later. There's no hurry. How about we-" Merlin started to ramble, avoiding Arthur's eyes before Arthur interrupted him.

"Merlin. What's wrong? Why do you all of a sudden not want to tell me all the stuff I didn't know? I thought you were enjoying being able to gloat at how much you've actually done."

"It's nothing. Perhaps we could just finish it later." Merlin tried, obviously really wanting to avoid the next subject and started to stand up. But Arthur wasn't going to let up. Not when he was finally learning just how loyal Merlin was to him even though he felt he didn't deserve it.

"Merlin, sit down." Hesitantly, he did so and stared at the table, still avoiding Arthur's eyes. The blonde stared at Merlin, noticing the sad look on his face. "It's obviously not nothing so tell me. What is it that you're so keen on not telling me?" After a few moments of silence, Merlin whispered one word almost inaudibly.

"Freya." Arthur stared at him, not quite hearing what he said.

"I didn't catch that."

"Freya." he said, louder this time, his voice thick with emotion. Merlin shifted in his seat, still not looking up.

"I don't understand." Arthur noted, looking at Merlin earnestly. It was clear that this one word held a lot of meaning but he didn't have a clue as to what.

"Do…do you remembered that…that bounty hunter? He came to Camelot with a druid girl." He started off slowly, softly. Arthur thought back to what Merlin had mentioned.

"The one who was cursed? The Bastet?" Merlin nodded. And suddenly Arthur realized. Halig was right in his suspicions about Merlin. He _was_ hiding her. "You were the one who helped her escape." he sighed. "Her name was Freya?" Again Merlin nodded. "How could you be so stupid? She was dangerous."

"It wasn't her fault! She was cursed! She didn't have a choice!" Merlin shouted suddenly, defending the girl. As he did so, he finally looked up at Arthur, his blue eyes full of emotion, sparkling with tears. Arthur stared back, a bit shocked by the outburst. "She…she didn't want to hurt anyone." Merlin said, quieter this time, his voice breaking slightly. Arthur watched him for a moment, noting the way Merlin defended her. The look in his eyes as he spoke of her.

"Merlin…please tell me you didn't…"

"Didn't what? Fall in love with her?" Merlin replied pointedly, a few stray tears falling down his pale face. "Because I did. I don't care what you say about it. I loved her. And I've never fallen for another." This time it was Arthur's turn to look at the table. He remembered the girl's screams as she transformed into a beast. The way she tore Halig apart. And the wail of pain as his sword pierced her.

"And I killed her…"

"You did what you had to. You were protecting Camelot." Merlin replied, wiping away at his tears. Arthur suddenly looked up at him, his face written with confusion. Now Merlin was defending _him_? Even though he killed her? Killed the only women he's ever loved? "Don't feel guilty about it, Arthur. I forgave you a long time ago."

"How? You should be furious with me. Hell, you should hate me." Then again, it was so like Merlin to forgive him. There wasn't a hateful bone in his body. It's something that Arthur had always admired.

"An old friend once told me that a half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole." Merlin stated softly. Arthur simply looked at him with confusion.

"That makes no sense at all, Merlin."

"That's because you're an idiot." Merlin replied, smiling at him. Arthur grinned back, glad to see a glint of the old Merlin again. He listened to the rest of all that Merlin had done, paying attention to every word. He couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that every time he thought the boy was in the bloody tavern he was actually saving Camelot or saving him. And for a long while, Arthur had thought Merlin drank more than Gwaine, and that would be quite an accomplishment. Merlin had done so much for him. For everyone he cared about. And to think that Arthur had called him lazy. The more Merlin talked, the more it became clear that he actually had had very little time for himself. All of his time in Camelot he was doing chores for Arthur, saving Arthur, risking his life for Arthur, protecting Arthur, serving Arthur. Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur. Arthur just let it all soak in. Margaret really did have a point. No wonder Merlin was worried about him as it seemed that's all he ever did as his secret protector. He remembered back to when he was bitten by the Questing Beast. He'd mentioned to his father that he felt as if someone was watching over him, keeping him from harm. His guardian angel. And the whole time, it was the annoying servant who insulted him daily. The one who could barely walk two feet without tripping, couldn't fight with a sword to save his life, and somehow managed to follow Arthur into battle countless times and almost always came out unharmed.

Of course, now, he realized it was because that thin and pale servant could in fact hold his own and protect himself and others. Just not with a sword. But with magic. The magic that he'd been told his whole life was evil. Yet it wasn't. Merlin wasn't. It was true that when Merlin had told him, showed him the truth while he had been dying from the fatal blow dealt by Mordred, he was scared. It was an immediate reaction that he now regretted. Merlin may be powerful, he remembered Gaius telling him that Merlin was the greatest sorcerer to walk the earth, but he had no need to fear him. Still though. Merlin and powerful were just two words he couldn't see going together. But the more he heard Merlin recount all that he'd done, the more he realized it was true. He may be a thin, pale, clumsy, self-sacrificing idiot, but he was powerful.

The warlock finally reached the end hours later. He recounted how when Mordred turned on them, he turned on Merlin and told Morgana that he was Emrys. Emrys. _'Not even Emrys can save you now.' _The words echoed in his head. That's what she had meant. Though he didn't question it at the time, he'd always wondered what Morgana had meant by that. Then Merlin said how he was attacked and lost his magic. Arthur snapped back from his thoughts at that. Merlin lost his magic. And had to go to some cave to get it back. At the same time…_oh_. When Merlin had told him that he wouldn't be going to Camlann with Arthur, he'd actually been hurt. He'd actually thought at first that Merlin was too scared and was making excuses. Then he thought that there was more to it, something he wasn't telling Arthur and it hurt him even more, thinking he didn't trust Arthur even to tell him why he really wasn't going. And now he knew the truth. He was trying to get his magic back. To help Arthur.

"I'm sorry." It was the first thing he could think to say. Merlin paused, looking at him for a moment. "I…when you told me you weren't going…I practically called you a coward. That was wrong of me…I should never have doubted you." Now the warlock looked worried.

"Did you just…"

"Apologize? Yes. I'm not always a prat you know."

"Could've fooled me." They both laughed and for a moment Arthur could almost imagine that nothing had changed at all.

"Is it true?" Arthur asked suddenly. "What Gaius told me?"

"What did he tell you?"

"He…he said…" he gave a small chuckle, still trying to wrap his head around it. "He said that you're the most powerful sorcerer to walk the Earth. Are you?" Merlin nodded without hesitation and Arthur let that sink in and accepted it. No matter how odd it seemed. A clumsy idiot, the most power sorcerer in the world. When he noticed the time, noting that they had been talking for several hours, another question occurred to him. "Margaret told me something this morning…but she didn't exactly explain…how did she end up being your apprentice?"

* * *

_3 years ago_

It'd only been a few months since he'd received word of a possible Seer in the western U.S. when Merlin found himself in Vegas. Tracking the girl had been fairly easy. In a sense. It was easy to know where she was, but actually finding her was the difficult part. A Seer was rare, even nowadays. And if found by the wrong people, well, he didn't want to think about it. The last time he encountered one that actually was a Seer was in 16th Century France.

However, finding this girl seemed to be more of a challenge than normal. She'd already earned herself a reputation and was constantly getting into trouble. And whenever he got close to finding her, she was one step ahead of him and already gone without a trace. But tonight was different. This time, he actually caught sight of her and had followed her for over an hour. There was something about her that he couldn't quite figure out. Something almost familiar.

It was in an alley behind a large office building late in the evening where she stopped to meet some people. Not the greatest people to be around either. There were four tall, muscular men who met with her as he hid in the shadows, out of sight. All were dressed decently enough to fit into a normal crowd but they had that look about them. Like they couldn't be trusted. The one in front with brown hair spoke first.

"At last you show up. I've been trying to meet up with you for weeks, sweetheart." The girl rolled her eyes in disgust, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I thought I told you not to call me that anymore. And I'm afraid I've been too busy to deal with you till now. What do you want?" Merlin immediately figured they knew each other.

"You know the answer to that."

"It's over Marcus. I'm not going back. Not after what you did." she argued harshly, the tone of her voice putting Merlin on edge as he watched the scene unfold.

"I had nothing to do with that." The man, Marcus, went to step towards her but she reacted without hesitation, pulling a gun from behind her back and pointing it at him. He put his hands up, and took a step back. "There's four of us, sweetheart. You'd be lucky to get off one shot." The girl watched him for a moment when a look crossed her eyes. A look Merlin remembered all too well. The same look Morgana had all those years ago.

"Wanna bet?" Her eyes flashed gold and the three men behind Marcus flew back into the wall, their heads connecting with the bricks with a loud crack and slumped to the ground, dead. Merlin's heart almost dropped in his chest. He'd hoped to get to this girl before she went down that path. She was so young, he'd hoped he'd been in time. But it seemed he wasn't.

"That wasn't necessary, dear. I just want to talk. Do you have any idea how much we could make with that little gift of yours?"

"You killed my brother. What makes you think I'd go back to you after that?" she glared at him, the betrayal written plainly across her face. "He was all I had left and you took him from me." The pain vanished from her eyes, replaced by anger and hatred as she took a step towards him, the gun aimed at his head. "I'd much rather kill you, piece by piece, and make you die and agonizing death for what you did." Marcus, with his hands up, took a step back. But not in fear. He had a small smile on his face.

"As fun as that sounds, I've got other plans." Merlin sensed why he was smiling and looked up. On the opposite roof of where the girl was standing was a fifth man, a long range rifle aimed at her.

"_Astrice!_" Merlin shouted as he ran out from his hiding spot to stand in front of the girl. The man on the roof flew back out of sight but Marcus was more than prepared. Quickly recovering from the shock of Merlin appearing out of nowhere, he took out a gun of his own and fired before running off down the alley. It took Merlin a moment to register the pain blazing in his abdomen when he doubled over. His hand pressed against the wound, blood quickly flowing out before he collapsed into darkness.

* * *

Pain. There was a lot of pain. It started in his abdomen and flared outwards. The world was dark, except for glimpses of consciousness slipping through. Blue eyes wide with confusion and fear. A soft voice. A flash of red hair. When Merlin was fully conscious he found himself laying on something soft and warm. He could feel that his shirt was missing, replaced by bandages around his middle.

A small groan escaped his lips and his eyes fluttered open. It took a moment for everything to come into focus through the pain but he was able to make out a pair of blue eyes staring at him. As his vision cleared, he recognized the Seer girl and the reason for his pain became clear as he remembered what happened. He'd been shot.

"How are you feeling?" she asked after a moment of silently watching him. It took Merlin a few seconds to do anything other than groan before he found his voice.

"I've had better days." he muttered softly and took in his surroundings. Merlin quickly realized it was a nice hotel room. He was lying in a large bed by the window and a second large bed lay near the door. The walls were decked in modern wall paper that gave the room a warm feel to it. Glimpsing out the window he could catch a glimpse of tall buildings that he recognized as part of the Las Vegas Strip. "Where am I?"

"My hotel room at the Excalibur." She replied immediately, watching Merlin carefully as he tried to sit up, but the pain flared to extremes and he decided against it, leaning back into the sheets.

"The Excalibur?" Merlin asked, almost smirking. "Oh, the irony."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"It was easy enough to get you up here. Your black shirt hid the blood and I just had to act like you were drunk. It's such a common thing in this town nobody thought twice about it." she explained softly. "I was able to get the bullet out without any trouble. No organs were damaged and luckily for you I pack first aid supplies for bullet wounds. Need to with the people I meet." She stopped and looked at him curiously for a moment. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Save me." Merlin simply shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Are you? I mean…I saw what you did. Your eyes turned gold…are you like me?" Merlin paused as he looked at her. He gave a small nod. "I…I had no idea there were others. I haven't met anyone else who could do things like that. Except…you said a word with it. What was it?"

"A spell." Her eyes widened and she watched him. Again he tried to sit up and this time she helped, carefully leaning his back against the headboard before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "What do you know? About what you can do?"

"Not much. Sometimes…I can move things, even people, with my mind. Throw them back. If I concentrate hard enough. Few months back I accidentally lit a hotel room on fire. And I have…I see things. Things that come true. Sometimes during the day, but it's mostly when I sleep. Like dreams. But they actually happen." she slowly explained. "Do you know what it is?" Merlin nodded.

"You have magic." He could see her freeze at that. "And you're a Seer. You can see the future. That's what your dreams are. They're visions."

"But…but magic. It doesn't really exist."

"It does. How else would you explain what you can do?" she shook her head slightly. "Here. Let me show you." Wincing, he sat a little straighter and held his palm out to her. "_Forbæne._" His eyes flashed gold and a small fire appeared in his palm. She stared, mesmerized by the flame before it disappeared as quickly as it came. She blinked a few times before looking back up at him.

"Why were you in that alley?"

"I followed you. I've been tracking you, trying to find you for the past few months."

"I knew I was being followed. But…why were you trying to find me?"

"I've got a few acquaintances out here. They got wind of a possible Seer so I came out to see if it was true. Seers aren't too common. Their powers are rare and whenever one shows up it's a mad grab for them. Used by the wrong people, your powers could be used for the wrong ends and cause far more harm than good. It could cause you to go down the wrong path. I've seen it happen before." Merlin explained, a sorrowed look crossing his eyes at the last sentence, remembering how Morgana had turned from friend to foe in such a horrible way. He paused and looked back up at her. "What's your name?"

"Margaret." She answered after a moment. "So, I could learn how to control this…my magic? Like spells and stuff that you see in the movies?" Merlin nodded. A small smile lit up her face. But it wasn't a happy smile. It was a cruel one. One that only brought back more memories of Morgana. "I could get rid of Marcus and the others. I could make them pay for what they did." Merlin's eyes grew sad as he watched her.

"No." Margaret stopped and looked at him. "That's not what magic is for. It's not to be abused in any way you see fit. Trust me, Margaret. You don't want to go down that path. You've already killed three men tonight. But you can still change." Margaret watched him closely.

"You don't know what they did to me. They killed my little brother. I trusted them to protect him and they betrayed me."

"I'm sorry. But revenge isn't going to bring him back. I know what it's like to be betrayed, and it hurts. But killing them won't make it better." he argued, trying to reason with her.

"Before…you said I could go down the wrong path…that you'd seen it happen before." Merlin nodded.

"She was a friend of mine. And a Seer. It was a long time ago. She felt betrayed and let her heart become filled with hate."

"What happened to her?"

"I killed her. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But she'd already gone too far and there was no going back. She wasn't going to stop. So I had to stop her." Margaret scooted away from him slightly, but the look of vengeance vanished from her eyes.

"I…I'm sorry. What was her name?"

"Morgana."

"Morgana?" she asked, looking up at him, slightly shocked. "You don't mean…you can't…that's not…." Merlin smiled softly.

"I see you're somewhat familiar with the Arthurian legends." She nodded in response. "I'm Merlin." Her eyes widened dramatically and she stood up, accidentally jarring the bed and causing Merlin to wince sharply, but she didn't seem to notice.

"You…what…but….no…no no no no no no. You're telling me I have…I have Merlin…the Merlin in my hotel room. Bleeding in my hotel room. Merlin, bleeding from a gunshot wound, in my hotel room. I...You…what?!" Margaret had to take several breaths, pacing back and forth in the room and he watched her with amused eyes. "Merlin. The Merlin. The real actual Merlin. This is…no. That…just no. I...have magic…Merlin…the Merlin just told me I have magic. The real Merlin…there's an actual Merlin. A real live…magic-y Merlin. And he's in my hotel room. At the Excalibur!" After several minutes and nearly hyperventilating she managed to calm herself down before gently sitting back down. "You're serious, right? You…You're really Merlin." He nodded. "But…you're not old…"

* * *

Merlin spent the next few days recovering. He'd tried healing himself but it took a lot of energy out of him. Margaret split her time between trying to not to freak out and mothering him obsessively, tending to his quickly healing wound. He was still incredibly weak from blood loss but was able to get out of bed with little help after three days and walk around the room to stretch his legs.

He spent the time teaching Margaret that she should use her gifts for good. To help people rather than harm them. It was clear that she wanted to argue against it, but she was too concerned about his wound and causing him to aggravate it to actually do so. But in the end, she took what he said to heart, no matter how much she wanted revenge. She would still think about it but quickly put those thoughts away. Merlin said she didn't want to go down that path. She'd already killed with magic. And the scary part was, when she did it, she didn't care. Nor did it make her feel better. She realized he was right. She didn't want that.

Margaret had plenty of cash so they had the hotel room for just over a month with Merlin teaching her the ways of magic and how it should be used as he healed completely. Eventually the conversation he'd thought over for a week came up.

"How would you like to learn how to control your magic? As my apprentice?"

"Really?" Margaret asked, nearly dropping the key card she was holding.

"Yeah. I've got a decent sized place in London. I could get you citizenship with a phone call and you could live with me while I teach you." A large smile lit up her face. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes!" she half shouted before hugging him.

* * *

**And there it is! Hope you all enjoyed it. As always please review! Requests are welcome and will be considered. If you loved it, why? If you hated it, why? How can I make it better. This is for you all as much as it is for me so tell me what you think and don't hold back.**

**I'll update with the next chapter ASAP!**


	5. Keeping Secrets

**Hello! I know, this is a bit late and I deeply apologize. However, I made it a point to get this chapter done by today because it's Colin Morgan's 29****th**** birthday! So here's the next chapter as a lovely present to you all! This one has a POV from each of the trio as I like to think of them. Along with a bit of hints and foreshadowing thrown in. I wasn't too clear on certain thoughts just to keep it a surprise for you all. So good luck trying to guess at what the hell Merlin's thinking about xD. **

**And Happy New Year!**

* * *

Arthur quickly realized why Merlin worried about her. It was clear she had a troubled past, and Merlin had also mentioned how Margaret reminded him of Morgana. When he thought about it, he could see why. But it wasn't the Morgana that he'd grown to fear. In truth, he never hated Morgana after all she had done, there was too much history between them. The betrayal had hurt, but he didn't hate her for it. He feared what she had become but never hated her. Growing up, she had become a sister to him, the irony of which he understood now. But that kind and caring Morgana he had known as a child is how chose to remember her, even when she was out to kill him.

And the more he thought about it, the more he could see that version of his sister in Merlin's apprentice. He could understand how Merlin was protective over her. He was trying to do right by her where he had failed with Morgana.

Still though, the idea of Merlin caring for someone as a guardian in a way, being protective and worried. It was a somewhat new part Merlin that he'd only glimpsed in the past. Arthur of course knew that Merlin had a sense of protectiveness over him, though he never understood why back then. Then, Merlin was his clumsy, skinny, innocent servant who couldn't hurt a fly. But every now and then he saw the different parts of Merlin that he didn't understand. Wise and brave. And even the protective side, which he had always noted off as idiocy, how could Merlin protect anyone when he could even wield a sword properly? Now, he understood it, but back then, it always puzzled him. He warded those thoughts away as he looked up at the warlock, thinking back to the story.

"What happened to Marcus?"

"Don't know." Merlin noted slowly, looking as if he too was lost in his own thoughts. "Haven't seen him since. And to be honest, I think she prefers it that way." Arthur nodded before something else occurred to him.

"So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Arthur took a moment to form the words in his head. "There's no more Camelot…you're obviously not my servant anymore…and I'm no longer King. Of anything. I'm just…one of the little people…I guess. So…what happens now?" Merlin gave him a small smile.

"Well…you need to learn about...well…everything. And we need to find out what's coming." Arthur paused, looking at Merlin with a confused look, having no idea what he meant. "You were to return at the time of Albion's greatest need. Which means something's about to happen. We need to find out what and fulfill our destiny, setting about the Golden Age and restoring magic to the land." Arthur blinked several times.

"Right…" Okay so, instead of worrying about protecting Camelot from enemies and sorcery and what not, he's got to basically save the bloody world, Arthur thought to himself. No pressure. "How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Merlin gave another, wider smile than before and chuckled lightly.

"Don't you remember anything I just told you? We've got a Seer. She's been seeing things the last few months. Hasn't been able to make sense of it yet, but it's still an advantage." Merlin explained before giving a small sigh. "If only we can get her mind off of dating random people." He commented lightly.

* * *

Perfect. There was no other way to put it. Everything was falling into place. Margaret didn't get back till the sun started to set. Part of her thought she should introduce him now but she knew it wasn't time yet. Instead, she kissed Jeff goodnight and walked into the house. Inside, she found that Merlin and Arthur had moved to the living room, chatting away on the sofa.

"You two lovebirds discussing your feelings?" she teased lightly. Merlin rolled his eyes as he turned to look at her, but she could see the worry in them.

"You're back late." Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. If only he knew. But he will, she thought to herself. When the time was right. Margaret walked over to join them, kicked off her shoes and sat next to Merlin. He watched her expectantly for several moments before she sighed.

"You've nothing to worry about. He's fine. Great actually. I think you'd like him. He's like…a real life knight of the round table." she commented with a wink. Both boys raised their eyebrows at that and Margaret gave a small chuckle. "Anyway, what were you two talking about?"

"Merlin was trying to teach me a bit about modern technology." Arthur commented, scratching the back of his head lightly. "None of it makes any sense to me." Merlin and Margaret both laughed before she let out a small gasp.

"Speaking of which." Margaret dug into her purse as she spoke. "I had Jeff stop by a shop for me and got this for you." She pulled out a cell phone and tossed it to Arthur. He caught it and turned it over several times in his hands.

"Thanks." Arthur smiled, looking at the object in his hands with curiosity. "Phone. Right?" he asked. Merlin and Margaret both nodded.

"You need one. I'll help you learn how to use it." she smiled softly.

* * *

That night, Merlin hardly got any sleep. There was just too much on his mind. He'd spent the whole day talking to Arthur about the past and the present. It felt so natural, so normal. Yet, every time he blinked or looked away, he feared Arthur would disappear and he'd wake up discovering it was nothing more than a dream. It wouldn't be the first time he dreamed that Arthur had come back only to find out that he was still gone. But this time felt far more real than ever before. And that almost terrified him. He didn't want to sleep. It was too real. If he woke up to find that it wasn't…

Even if it was. If Arthur really is back. What if he failed again? He remembered Arthur dying in his arms. _Just…just hold me. _It was forever ingrained in his memory. _I want to say something I've never said to you before. Thank you._ It played over and over again in his mind. He couldn't go through that again. Pushing those thoughts away, Merlin sighed and turned over to look up at the ceiling, thinking over all he'd told Arthur. There were very few things he held back. He wanted Arthur to know everything, but he knew there were some things that could wait. The last thing Merlin wanted to do was completely overwhelm him. Which is why he didn't mention that the incident with Morgause, what his mother had said to him, that he was born of magic, was true. Not yet.

"_And what of Camelot? What happened after I died?"_

"_Arthur-"_

"_How was Guinevere? Did you look after her for me? Was she happy?"_

"_She…missed you."_

"_Merlin, there's something you're not telling me. What is it?"_

"_Later. You've only just got back. It can wait."_

He knew Arthur would ask. But he had no idea how to tell him. No idea how he'd react to such news. It was going to be hard. For both of them. He was extraordinarily glad he had Margaret. Even though she could be trouble, she was there when he needed her to be. If he was entirely honest, he wasn't surprised that she and Arthur seemed to be getting along without too much trouble. Especially since…when Merlin found out, what she was, it gave him more hope than he'd ever had in centuries. Thing was, he didn't tell her. She had no clue. And neither does Arthur.

Merlin planned on telling them of course, but he didn't know how to bring it up. So many years, keeping secrets. Hiding things for so long. It was still a habit for him. Most of the time, Margaret had to basically interrogate him when she knew he was hiding something.

So much to do. So much to say. How the hell was he going to do this?

* * *

A week had passed. Arthur was slowly getting used to things. He'd only left the house twice, just to walk down the street and back. He tried his best not to jump as each car passed, each plane flying overhead. The sounds of life were so different than what he knew. In Camelot, he'd hear people talking, the sounds of horses on cobblestone, swords clanging together, the crackle of fire, the creaking of wood, and the sound of boots on hard stone. And yet, it was relatively quiet, especially at night. Now, everything was so loud. Even when the sun had long gone down, Arthur could hear the cars on the road. Didn't these people ever sleep?

A few people had spoken to him on these small walks. They'd say hello from their garden as he'd pass by. Ask him his name, where he lived, when he moved to the neighborhood. Friendly conversation. No 'my lord's or 'sire's. Like he was just another random person. It was so strange. He'd done his best to answer without being too suspicious. Without acting like he had no idea what they were talking about when they mentioned things going on in the world around them.

At one point during today's walk, a kind old woman tending to her garden had gotten him to linger around longer and talk with him for a while. She'd mentioned the royal family which he knew next to nothing about.

"Have you seen the recent pictures of Prince George?"

"Oh…no, can't say I have."

"So handsome. Reckon he looks a lot like his dad."

"Yeah…I guess he does."

"Just you wait. Once that boy hits his teen years, he's going to be the heart throb of every girl in the country, just like William was. Let's just hope he doesn't get his father's hair line. Poor lad's already going bald." She laughed.

He'd been so confused that he just laughed a little awkwardly before mentioning something about needing to get back and said goodbye. He had no clue what she was talking about. Arthur didn't even know there was a prince. And who the hell was William? Inwardly groaning, he hurried back to the house and plopped down on the couch where Margaret was reading again. She looked up when he sighed and put the book down. She was good about that. Several times during the week she could tell when something was bothering him, and if Merlin was off in his room doing God knows what, she'd talk to him. He'd never really had someone to just talk to so openly. Besides Merlin. But Arthur noticed the last day or so, Merlin had been avoiding him after he'd asked yet again about what happened to Guinevere. He knew he was hiding something. There was something he didn't want to tell Arthur. Margaret disrupted his thoughts by clearing her throat lightly.

"What's wrong? Had a bad walk?"

"No, I just…I don't know anything. At all. This woman was talking to me about Prince George? And something about him going to be sought after by every girl just like William?" Margaret let out a small laugh.

"Oh. Yeah. Never understood that about William. I was always a Harry girl myself. Merlin says it's cause I like reckless men. He's not even that reckless. I just like that he's ginger." She rambled off and Arthur was left staring at her and leaned back, groaning irritably.

"I don't understand." Margaret smiled gently at him.

"Alright, brief history lesson then. William and Harry are the Queen's grandsons. Their mother, Diana, who everyone loved apparently, was killed in a car crash when they were young. Harry is a little wild and had this scandal in Vegas involving a pool and I think strippers. I'm not sure. He's still single. And William recently married a commoner named Kate, a few years ago. She got pregnant, and just had a baby boy about a year ago, whom I wanted them to name Arthur but whatever. George is good enough name I guess." Margaret explained slowly. "But that's about all I know.I know next to nothing about how a monarchy works."

"How come?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Didn't grow up in one. There's no Queen or King in the States." Arthur stared for a moment, trying to understand.

"Then who runs the Kingdom?"

"The President. We vote him into office…the throne, I guess you could say. But not as much power." He nodded slowly.

"And you vote for…what…people of nobility?" Margaret laughed loudly at that, hiding her face in her hands before looking back up at Arthur.

"Hell no. There is isn't any nobility. Not really. Just rich people who think they know what they're doing."

"And none of them are nobility?"

"There's no nobility. Not anymore. There might be here in England but I don't know. Doubt it though. Nobody really cares about that anymore." Arthur had to smile at that. He never really thought noble blood mattered. He proved that much when he knighted commoners. It was nice to see that had carried on in a way.

"Sounds like a lot is different when it comes to ruling."

"That's an understatement. The Queen doesn't even have that much power. In all reality, the Prime Minister is in charge here in the U.K. And he's voted in as well." None of this had exactly helped Arthur understand but it was a start anyway. He was going to have to learn somehow.

"I'm really confused."

"Me too." she smiled softly at him. "I try to avoid politics."

"And you're not from here, right? Don't even sound like it. You grew up in the…States you said?"

"America. It's as the British say 'across the pond.'" She laughed and he just stared at her, clearly not getting it. "On the other side of the Pacific Ocean. This guy discovered it in the 1600's. English people colonized there. A hundred or so years later the King decided to be an arrogant ass and they rebelled. Revolutionary war and boom. America. Just to make a long story short."

"Right…" Arthur heard shuffling from upstairs. Merlin pacing up in his room. "Margaret, can I ask you a question?"

"That in itself is a question. And I'm positive you've already asked me at least 6 questions in the last few minutes. Which means you've reached your question limit for the day." she commented. Arthur, already becoming used to this from her, simply rolled his eyes before continuing.

"Do you have any idea why Merlin's been avoiding me the last few days?" The smile on her face fell slightly and he automatically knew that she did. She pursed her lips together and looked down, not answering. "Margaret?"

"I think I've got a pretty good idea about why…"

"And?"

"I shouldn't say." She moved to stand up. Arthur reached out, firmly but gently taking hold of her arm before she could walk away. She sighed, sitting back down and looked away from him.

"What's going on?" It took a few moments before Margaret looked up at him.

"He's avoiding your questions about Camelot." Arthur's eyebrows raised in surprise. "He never told me much about what happened after you died, but I think he's worried about how you'll take it." He could tell she knew something but it was clear to him that she wasn't going to tell him. Seems he'd have to wait for Merlin to do so. Margaret stared at him another for several moments. It was the first time he'd held eye contact with her for more than a few seconds. It was odd. There was something about her. He couldn't quite figure it out. Already he'd seen slight reminders of Morgana in her like Merlin had noted she expressed when they had that long talk while she was out. But this was something different from that. It was familiar. But he couldn't place it. "I think we should go do something." Margaret stated suddenly and looked up towards the stairs. "The three of us. Perhaps train you how to fight." Arthur paused at that.

"I know how to fight."

"With a sword." She rolled her eyes. "I mean...a gun. I know Merlin's got quite a few, even though he technically shouldn't. Keeps them upstairs. I'm positive you're going to need to know how to use one." Before she could continue, they heard the door upstairs open and Merlin came down a few seconds later. Arthur watched as Merlin froze slightly, looking at them. Margaret ignored this as she smiled at him. "Merlin! I was about to go get you. I was just telling Arthur that he needs to learn how to use a gun."

Merlin simply watched them for several seconds before nodding. "Sounds like a good idea. I'll…go get them." With that, he quickly headed back upstairs.

* * *

Merlin was incredibly grateful for Margaret's idea of going out shooting. It always helped to clear his mind when he was troubled. Maybe when they were finished he'd be able to tell Arthur. He quickly reached under his bed for the box which held a few handguns, and headed downstairs with a small smile on his face. Arthur and Margaret were already ready and Margaret had the car keys in her hand.

"No. Absolutely not. You are not driving." She looked up at him, feigning being offended.

"And why the hell not? I'm a good driver."

"Last time I let you drive, you kept veering to the wrong side of the rode. And I don't feel like getting pulled over because you feel like going 45 over the speed limit." She grudgingly handed the keys to him, muttering an insult under her breath. Merlin nodded at Arthur before heading outside. Margaret took the backseat of the car once it was unlocked and spread her legs across all the seats which would force Arthur to sit in the front next to Merlin. He sighed lightly, knowing she did that on purpose since he'd been avoiding Arthur. Why the hell was she taking Arthur's side on this when she knew why he didn't want to answer the questions? He knew why, but it still annoyed him. He tossed the box in the back and Margaret barely caught it as he buckled himself in. Arthur was the last one in the car, taking his time as he clearly didn't like travelling in the car. Merlin heard him muttering something about preferring a horse as he buckled himself in.

The drive started out relatively quiet. Margaret was busy listening to her iPod in the back and Arthur was hesitating at resuming his unanswered questioning. It took him ten minutes to even say anything.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"There's a large bit of land that the royal family gave to me for privacy to practice whatever I wish without worrying about the public eye. It's where I teach Margaret more advanced magic and it makes a great shooting range." Merlin explained quickly. They fell into silence once more.

It wasn't until they were far beyond the city limits and into the country side that Arthur spoke again.

"When are you going to answer my questions about Camelot?"

"It's…" Merlin sighed, knowing there was no way of getting out of it. "When we get back to the house." He promised, immediately wishing that he hadn't. Arthur nodded, accepting that for now.

"I'll hold you to that."

"I'm sure you will." He pulled onto an unmarked road and drove to the edge of a field that had targets strewn about. "We're here."

* * *

**Aaaaand there it is! I'll do my best to get the next chapter done as soon as possible. If I end up procrastinating, then I'm counting on my beautiful lioness to nag me with text messages to get off youtube and write. You know who you are! **

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Reviews are adored and cherished and I'd even love to hear about criticism if you think I need to work on something. I've always got an open ear for suggestions and requests on my writing style so please don't be shy.**

**Once again, wishing Colin a very happy birthday! I'm so proud of my future husband. *cough* I mean, what? I didn't say that. Happy New Years everyone!**


	6. Secrets and Tempers

**I am so sorry this took so long. It's been two weeks. I deeply apologize for the wait. So I won't keep you any longer. Here's chapter 6. I hope you like it.**

* * *

The three of them were standing in the middle of the nearly empty field. Merlin had already pinned the paper targets to the metal bases several meters ahead of them. With a few muttered words, his eyes flashed gold, unlocking the large box he was holding. Arthur couldn't but think back to when Merlin revealed his magic. It felt like so long ago but it was practically last week. For him anyway. He watched with curiosity as Merlin handed a strange metal object to Margaret.

She quickly loaded and cocked it with ease, aiming at one of the targets. Arthur nearly jumped out of his skin as she fired a shot and hit near the center with a laugh. He stood frozen for a moment trying to process what just happened.

"Show off." Merlin muttered. Arthur took a breath, collecting himself.

"The hell was that?!" Merlin took another one out of the box and handed it to Arthur. He look it over cautiously.

"It's a gun." Merlin explained and took out a third for himself. "Here." He tossed him a cartridge and showed him slowly how to load it. It took several tries but was eventually able to do it. Margaret fired off another shot, causing Arthur to jump again. Merlin chuckled. "It's alright. You get used to it." Arthur stared at him incredulously as Merlin loaded his own gun.

"How the hell do you get used to that?" Arthur almost immediately regretted asking as a shadow crossed Merlin's usually gleeful eyes.

"It just happens…" Merlin cleared his throat before cocking the gun and gesturing for Arthur to do the same. He did and watched Merlin expectantly. "Here. You aim it. Like you would a crossbow. The squeeze the trigger. And keep a tight grip for the recoil." Merlin explained as he aimed, showing Arthur, and nodded. "Like this." This time, Arthur was prepared as Merlin fired off a shot. He still jumped but it didn't freak him out as much as before. Arthur looked at the target and noticed that Merlin's aim was on point. That's a first, he thought to himself but didn't mention it out loud as Margaret fired yet another shot. "Your turn." Merlin noted and helped Arthur aim. "Be careful of the recoil." Arthur nodded and took a breath before squeezing the trigger. Bulls-eye.

"Good shot." Margaret smiled.

"Same goes for you." Arthur responded, gesturing to her target.

"That's because she cheats." Merlin smiled cheekily before firing off another shot. Arthur did his best not to jump at the sound.

"How do I cheat?!" she exclaimed, looking offended as she ran a hand through her red hair.

"You're American." Merlin teased with a smile and Margaret sighed. Arthur's blue eyes darted between the two of them, feeling as if he'd just missed a joke.

"How…how is that cheating?" Arthur asked and Merlin simply smiled.

"Remember when we first met and got into that mace fight? You said you'd been trained to kill since birth." Arthur nodded with a roll of his eyes. Leave it to Merlin to bring up something completely off topic. Idiot. "It's the same thing for her with guns."

"Hardly." Margaret scoffed and fired off another shot. Merlin chuckled and Arthur mentally took Margaret's side. If he didn't that would be admitting that he cheated in that mace fight because he'd had years of training. But it was Merlin who cheated not him. Yes, magic is definitely cheating, no matter what M_er_lin says.

* * *

About an hour later they all ran out of bullets and Merlin decided to take advantage of the private field to give Margaret time and space to practice. Arthur took a seat on the ground to watch as Merlin locked the guns away. It was only noon so there was still plenty of daylight left. In all reality, they didn't really need to practice out here but Merlin was stalling. He had to go and make Arthur that damn promise. Merlin knew he would now have to answer all of Arthur's questions the moment they got home and he was trying to delay the inevitable. Mostly because he knew it was not going to be easy for Arthur and he had no idea how he'd react. Running a shaky hand through his hair, he pushed those thoughts away and opened up the back of the car, pulling out a life size statue of a cat.

"You been studying?" he asked, putting the stone figure down on the grass in front of Margaret before stepping away.

"Every night. Not that it helps. I'm useless at this spell." Margaret muttered, eyeing the stone cat as if it had somehow offended her.

"It's powerful magic. Takes lots of practice." Merlin encouraged with a smile. It was at that moment that Arthur spoke up from where he sat off to the side.

"What is it you're trying to do exactly?" Merlin couldn't hold back the small smile on his face at Arthur's question. He'd been able to tell that Arthur was still ever so slightly hesitant about magic and he couldn't really blame him for that. But asking questions was a great start.

"Make it come to life." Margaret grumbled and raised her hand towards the statue. "Bobai odothay arsan quickem." Nothing happened. "Bobai odothay arsan quickem." she muttered again but to no avail.

"It's still a statue." Arthur noted mindlessly, earning him an exasperated sigh from Margaret.

"Yes. Thank you, Arthur. I hadn't noticed." She muttered. Merlin watched with subtle eyes, smiling softly to himself at the exchange.

"You've only been trying this spell for a month now. It'll take some time." Merlin encouraged again. He himself remembered trying to learn this spell. He'd only been Arthur's servant for a few days when he had to save his life from Sir Valiant. So long ago now. It had been so very simple back then, Merlin almost missed it.

"How long did it take you to learn this spell, Merlin?" Arthur asked, pulling him from his thoughts. He's forgot the two of them were there for a moment.

"I stayed up all night to learn it." he responded offhandedly as if it hardly mattered. Margaret groaned audibly while Arthur just stared at Merlin with an almost comical expression of disbelief. "What?"

"You…you said she's been working on this spell for a month. And you learned it overnight?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Had to so I could save your royal backside." Arthur smiled widely.

"Valiant. His shield." Arthur noted lightly. "I sacked you."

"That's because you're a prat." Merlin chuckled before walking over to Margaret who was now glaring at the statue, as if wishing it would catch fire or explode. "Try it again. Watch your pronunciation. Focus. You can do it." Margaret nodded slowly as he stepped back and let out a small breath. She looked back at the statue after glancing at him and took a few small, steadying breaths.

"Berbay odothay arisan quicken." Her eyes flashed gold and the statue turned into a black cat. Margaret let out a relieved laugh as the feline meowed and scampered over to Arthur.

"See?" Merlin smiled widely. "Know you'd get it eventually. Just needed practice." Arthur watched as the cat in wonder as it climbed onto his lap, purring loudly. "She likes you." Arthur reached out to her and gently scratched her head. The cat leant into his touch and purred louder than before, perfectly content. Margaret collapsed to the ground, spreading her arms out in the grass with a sigh and mindlessly played with a small fire in her palm. A soft breeze kicked up as Merlin sat down next to Arthur, smiling.

"You should keep her." he commented lightly. Arthur paused his attention that he was giving the cat to look up at Merlin.

"You can't be serious."

"I am. I don't see why not." Merlin smiled wider as the cat nudged Arthur's hand and meowed, clearly annoyed that he'd stopped scratching her.

"Al-Alright." Arthur stuttered, scratching her head again. "What…what should I call her?"

"Luci." Margaret spoke up, looking over at them with a wide grin. Both Merlin and Arthur looked over at her. "Short for Lucifer." Merlin couldn't hold back his laugh and rolled his eyes and Arthur gave a light shrug.

"I'm not going to come up with anything better. Lucifer it is."

* * *

A lake. Tall mountains capped with fresh snow and a gentle breeze breaking the calm surface of the water. A woman stood by the shore wearing a purple dress. Long black hair flew gently in the wind, framing her face. The wind spoke in soft whispers, words floating through the air. "The time of Albion approaches." The voice was soft, like it belonged to the woman.

The scene shifted. A tall man, muscular and strong but with a kind face. He wore chainmail, a cloak of red with the Pendragon crest. He stood in the middle of a London street and what he wore began to change, fading into modern attire. A vow from his lips danced through the air. "Your enemies are my enemies."

Margaret took a sharp breath as the vision faded away and she took a moment to remember where she was. They'd finished up practice and were already on their way home. Leaning her head against the window, she noticed Merlin looking back at her for a second before focusing once more on the road. It seemed he noticed her intake of air.

"You alright?" She nodded slowly and Arthur turned in his seat to look back at her, Luci sitting contently on his lap.

"It was just another vision." Her voice remained steady but Merlin knew she felt otherwise. Margaret was sure he did. Seeing the future wasn't exactly an easy thing to go through and he knew that. Her heart was racing slightly as she tried to calm herself.

"Anything worth noting?" Merlin pressed much to her annoyance. It wasn't time to tell him yet. She knew he'd lose it if she told him now. This wasn't the first time she'd seen this particular vision or others similar to it, and she knew what it meant. Something was coming, but instead of telling Merlin, Margaret lied again.

"It wasn't clear enough to understand. Just….bits and pieces." The lie came out easily as it was certainly not the first time she'd used that excuse. Margaret kept telling herself that it was for Merlin's sake. He'd work himself into a frenzy if he knew. "Still trying to make sense of it." Merlin nodded, accepting the answer without any fuss. Arthur however, had different plans.

"Are your….visions always like that?" he asked with what she knew was genuine curiosity. Luci meowed affectionately as she nodded. "Well…..what did you see exactly?" Margaret held back a small groan at the question and tried to think about what to say that wouldn't reveal too much.

"There….were mountains. A…London street. Someone was talking. They said that Albion's time approaches. And there was a man." she explained slowly, knowing to avoid mentioning the lake as that would set off Merlin's warning bells.

"A man?" Arthur continued. "What did he look like?" To stop herself from glaring at him she focused her eyes on the countryside they were driving by.

"Well….he was tall." She knew exactly who he was but did her best to be vague. "Muscular. But not in a scary way. A kind face. Like you could trust him."

"Sounds a bit like Percival." Merlin joked and Arthur laughed his agreement. Margaret was grateful that neither of them noticed her tense up ever so slightly and played it off by mindlessly scratching the back of her neck and rolled her eyes.

"Isn't he one of the Knights of the Round Table?" Margaret questioned nonchalantly as if she didn't already know. Arthur smiled and nodded.

"How much do you know about Camelot?" he asked.

"I know almost everything there is to know about the legend. Not to boost your ego, but it was my favorite story growing up." Arthur raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Why?"

"Don't know. Just felt…a sort of connection to it." She didn't notice Merlin shifting nervously in the driver's seat at her answer.

* * *

As soon as they got home, Merlin noted that Margaret retreated to her bedroom as he sat down on the couch, preparing himself for Arthur's interrogation. Arthur sat down next to him, holding Luci in his arms, having already become fond of her, and watched him expectantly.

"What do you want to start off with?" Merlin asked, avoiding his friends gaze.

"Gwen." Merlin sighed lightly and took a small breath.

"Alright. There's quite a few things you need to know so just be patient." Arthur nodded so he continued. "When you died…I didn't return to Camelot until about a week later. All of Camelot was mourning you and they were all worried. Gwaine and Percival had apparently gone after Morgana and Gwaine was hurt. Bad. Everyone knew you were gone and they thought they were going to lose him as well. Luckily, I got back in time to help him. Gwen….she was strong. She was devastated but she carried on and her grief didn't hold her back as Queen. She'd have made you proud." Merlin paused for a moment and looked up at Arthur whose eyes were bright with unshed tears, clearly trying to hold them back. "When I was with you, Gaius had told her….about me. Not directly but she put two and two together and figured it out. We told the Round Table first. None of them were really surprised, it made sense to them and a few had suspected it. With how many times I'd gone into battle with you lot without so much as a sword and managed to come out alive and unharmed. About two weeks later, Gwen started to lift the laws on magic. Slowly, to make it easier for the people. Gwaine came up with the idea of making me Court Sorcerer and Gwen agreed. About a month later….Gwen came to Gaius complaining about getting sick in the mornings. It's been happening for about a week or so. As it turned out, Gwen was…"

"What?" Merlin hesitated, not answering. "Come on, Merlin. Spit it out. What was wrong with Guinevere?"

"…She…she was pregnant with your child." Merlin watched carefully as Arthur's eyes widened and a mixture of emotions crossed the blonde's face. "Arthur?"

"We…we'd been trying but…I…" Arthur stumbled over every word and put his head in his hands. "I….had a child?"

"A son. William." Arthur looked up at him and smiled.

"That was my idea…" Merlin tilted his head slightly, not understanding. "We'd been trying for a few months and….one night, we got to talking about if she did conceive, what we'd name the child. The boy name we'd agreed on…was William. After your friend, Will, from Ealdor. Because he'd saved my life." Merlin couldn't hold back the small smile on his face, feeling a mixture of pride and confusion.

"But…You thought he was a sorcerer."

"One that was your friend. And died saving my life."

"You never cease to amaze me." he smiled and Luci meowed in Arthur's lap as if she agreed. Arthur wiped away a few stray tears and smiled.

"What….what was he like? My…son?"

"He was just like you. An excellent warrior. A good heart. Cared about his people." Arthur leaned back into the couch with a forlorn expression on his face, mixed with guilt.

"I should have been there."

"It wasn't your fault. Gwen managed, and she wasn't alone All of us were there for her."

"But he deserved to know his father. To have a father figure in his life." Merlin looked down for a moment.

"He…did have one." Arthur looked up at him suddenly. "When William was about five….Gwen…she remarried." Merlin watched Arthur's face carefully to gauge his reaction. He seemed to be thinking, several emotions crossing his blue eyes. Finally, he nodded slowly with a sad smile.

"Good. I….I…I wouldn't have wanted her to….to be alone. As…as long as he made her happy." Arthur replied slowly, running his hands over his face. "Who?"

"Leon." Arthur nodded ever so slightly.

"They'd always been close. Having grown up together…." Merlin noted that Arthur looked a bit conflicted and a little hurt, his eyes remaining down cast. Luci nuzzled his chest affectionately to cheer him up.

"He made her happy. But she never stopped loving you. Even after decades, she still missed you." Once again, Arthur nodded. Merlin wished he could do more to help him. He placed his hand firmly on Arthur's shoulder in support, much like Arthur had done for him in the past. And while they were discussing this, Merlin knew now was the time to mention what he knew. "There's something else. It's not to do with Gwen…..directly…but you should know." Arthur remained quiet for several moments before composing himself and looking back at Merlin.

"What is it?"

"It's about Margaret." Arthur's eyebrows raised slightly in a puzzled expression. "She…well she's….your descendant." The blonde stared at him blankly for several seconds.

"She what?"

"Well, William eventually had children of his own and so forth and….she's descended from your bloodline." Arthur looked at him as if he'd gone mad.

"You're sure?" Merlin nodded. "How? How could you possibly know that?"

"Freya." Merlin almost whispered before raising his voice to a normal level so Arthur could hear him. "Freya. She came to me in a dream and told me. Then I looked into it and….it's true. You're her ancestor." He explained slowly, glancing up the stairs to make sure Margaret wasn't there. Arthur took glanced upwards before looking back at him.

"Does…does she know?" He shook his head.

"No. I never told her. I'm not sure how she'd take it. It might freak her out."

"Well, yes. At first. But she should know."

"Arthur, it's not a good idea." Arthur looked almost infuriated at that as he stared at him.

"Why?!"

"She's never had a family. Not really. She only ever had her little brother and he died. I don't think she'd take it well."

"So…you're just not going to tell her? At all? She should know who she is."

"I know." Merlin reasoned. "Believe me, I know. Just….not yet." Upstairs, the sound of Margaret's door opening silenced their discussion. Both of them stared at her as she walked down the stairs. She'd noticed and watched them with a confused expression.

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing." Arthur and Merlin stated at the same time, causing her to narrow her eyes at them before scoffing.

"Whatever." Margaret shook her head at them, walking down the hall, towards the kitchen. Merlin let out a soft sigh.

"I'll let you…get to know her better." Merlin noted, patting Arthur's shoulder before retreating to his room.

* * *

Arthur slowly walked into the kitchen and dining room and felt slightly awkward as he noticed Margaret sitting at the table drinking coffee. He was still processing all that Merlin had told him and as he watched her, he looked for similarities. It did help to explain why she was like Morgana at times. But it was all rather overwhelming to be honest. He was a father, yet he wasn't. The son he never knew he had has been dead for centuries and sitting in front of him was a girl that he know knew was related to him. And in a way, his only connection to the child he wasn't there for. Perhaps he could do right by her. Be there for her, like he would've been for William.

All these thoughts ran through his head as he took a seat across from her, studying her every feature. Margaret looked up at him with a small smile. Her bright blue eyes, now that he knew the connection, reminded him of his own. Arthur thought back to the car ride, when she had mentioned that she always felt a connection to the legend of King Arthur. Now he understood why. But she didn't.

"What's up?" she asked suddenly, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You look like you're thinking really hard about something."

"Oh. No, not really. Just…..wondering." he stated offhandedly.

"About what?"

"About you." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at him.

"Me?" Arthur nodded.

"I….just sort of realized that…I don't know that much about you."

"Yeah." She agreed matter-of-factly and took a sip of her coffee. "Your point?" He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged, not quite sure what to say.

"Well, perhaps….we could change that? You could tell me a bit about yourself." She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"There's really not that much to tell."

"Sure there is." He tried, thinking carefully. "What's your favorite color? How old are you? What do you like to do for fun?" Arthur offered, smiling to hide how awkward and nervous he felt. No, not nervous. Kings don't get nervous. Margaret simply stared at him incredulously.

"Are you serious?" He nodded, gesturing for her to answer. She sighed dramatically. "Blue and green. 22. Reading." She listed off quickly.

"What was your childhood like?"

"Why do you care?" she asked almost angrily, becoming defensive.

"I'm just….curious. That's all." Arthur noted hesitantly.

"Well don't be." He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. Perfect. She'd inherited the famous Pendragon temper. Just his luck.

"That….man you went out with the other day. What was his name? Jeff? What's he like?" Margaret crossed her arms over her chest.

"He's fine."

"Fine? That's it?" she nodded. "Is he nice? A proper gentleman? How long have you known him?"

"What's with all these questions?!"

"I just…..I'd like to meet him." Big mistake.

"The hell's going on? No. God, what are you, my father?" she spat out, her voice laced with sarcasm and anger. Arthur inwardly sighed at the irony of that question.

"No. I…..I'm worried that's all."

"Oh. Oh, you're worried. Oh, how sweet. Well I can take care of myself, thank you."

"I'm sure you can. But…..the three of us living here. We're like a family you know." Arthur tried reasoning but that only angered her more and quickly stood up, pushing her chair back almost violently. He tried to discern what emotions he saw in her eyes, to try and understand why she was suddenly so defensive. '_She's never had a family. Not really. She only ever had her little brother and he died._' Merlin's words echoed in his head and Arthur thought about what they meant. It was more than just a statement. There was a reason why Merlin had said it. Explain why she shouldn't know Arthur was her family. '_he died'._

"No, we're not! The three of us are not a family! We are just three people living under one roof! Nothing more!" As Margaret stormed off, it clicked. She didn't want a family. She didn't want to get that close to anyone and then lose them. That's why Merlin didn't tell her and basically ordered him to do the same. He was protecting her so she didn't get attached. So she didn't get hurt. Arthur inwardly groaned at his own stupidity for not seeing it before. For not being more considerate when asking Margaret about her life. Merlin was right, though he'd never admit it out loud. He really is a dollop head.

* * *

The clouds were cast low in the sky, darkened with oncoming rain. Just another typical day in London as usual. But something felt off to Merlin. A feeling he couldn't quite describe. Like something was wrong. It put him on edge. Everything made him jump. Arthur had immediately noticed and had asked him what was wrong.

"It's just a feeling." He'd responded offhandedly, not wanting to worry him too much. Margaret hadn't left her room since last night after her argument with Arthur. Merlin had heard the end of it due to her yelling and did his best to ease Arthur's guilt over it. He wasn't to know she'd blow up at him like that so he wasn't entirely to blame. It was better to just leave her alone to cool off.

So Merlin decided to take Arthur out of the house for a while. There was a park about five minutes walking distance that he liked to go to every now and then. And Arthur loved the idea of seeing the park. After breakfast, Merlin knocked on Margaret's door to let her know they were going out. With nothing but her irritated reply, he and Arthur headed out.

Despite the dark skies and slight drizzle of rain, it wasn't too cold outside. They passed a few neighbors who were walking their dogs or checking the mail who said hello to them. Arthur was especially happy that they were walking rather than taking the car. He still wasn't used to it and Merlin knew it would take a while for Arthur to be completely comfortable in a motor vehicle.

Five minutes later they arrived at the park. It was relatively empty, save for a few teen couples were too occupied snogging to notice them. Merlin had simply rolled his eyes at them while Arthur stared in shock. In Camelot, couples were never that intimate in public. Not in that time. Merlin did his best not to laugh as Arthur tried to understand the 21st Century.

They sat down on a bench that was underneath a thick canopy of trees as the rain came down a little harder. A few of the teenagers had scurried off to avoid getting wet while others braved it out.

"I really messed up, didn't I?" Arthur spoke up suddenly.

"Probably should've avoided calling us a family." He smiled softly and Arthur nodded.

"Yeah. But it's true."

"It is. But it's still a sensitive word for her. I know she's been getting somewhat close to you over the last week but she doesn't want to. Margaret….hates getting close to people. Makes it easier for them to hurt her." Arthur looked over at him sadly.

"Curse of the Pendragon's. Hurt the most by those we care about." Merlin frowned slightly, knowing what Arthur was referring to. Margaret was hurt by Marcus' betrayal and her brother's death because of it. Arthur had been hurt by both Morgana and Agravaine's betrayal. He knew how she felt.

"It would seem that way." Merlin agreed sadly. Looking around he noticed that everyone else in the park had left. He was about to say something when a man in a black hoodie walked up to them, his hands in his pockets. Merlin couldn't see his face, but he felt uneasy by his presence. "Can we help you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. Give me all of your money." He ordered in a thick cockney accent.

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked, standing up to try and intimidate the man. It didn't work. Instead, the hooded thug pulled out a gun and aimed it at Arthur.

"Now."

"Arthur…" Merlin warned as the blonde took a step closer to the thug, not showing any fear. When neither of them showed signs of backing down, Arthur made his move and Merlin's world came crashing down. It all happened so fast. Arthur moved to grab the gun when four shots rang out in the air. The rain was pouring now, drenching them both as the thug ran off and Merlin caught Arthur, carefully lowering him to the ground. Blood flowed over Merlin's hands as he pressed down on Arthur's abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding. His magi bubbled to the surface in his panic as Arthur paled from the blood loss and gasped for breath. Spell after spell left his lips, his eyes a continuous gold as he tried to heal him but nothing was working. There was too much blood. Too much blood. Merlin barely noticed the tears flowing freely down his face as he pressed down harder on his friend's wounds, but the bleeding continued. His hands were beyond stained.

"Merlin." Arthur gasped, his breath slowing down to nothing. The light in his eyes faded away as his body became unnaturally still beneath Merlin's grip. He was gone.

Merlin woke up screaming.

* * *

**Did I scare you at the end there? Made you think Arthur was actually dying, didn't I? I had to. It was so tempting. Anyway, that was chapter 6! Please please please please review. **


	7. Scars and Lies

**I know this is extremely late and I do apologize. I'll admit I don't have a good excuse for it other than this chapter was extremely difficult to write. But here it is in all its glory. Merthur hints without actually making a Merthur fic. A bit of fluff with Arthur and Merlin in this chapter. Cuddling is involved. You've been warned. Also, a scene involving Merlin's scars. Because we all know they're the reason he was never shirtless after the first episode.**

* * *

Margaret didn't leave her room that night. Arthur had knocked on her door several times to apologize but she just ignored him. It wasn't that he'd hurt her in any way. In fact, what he said was purely out of care for her. That was the problem. It scared her. No. Terrified her. She'd already become far too close to Merlin and the last thing she wanted was to add Arthur to the list of people she cared for. That would mean one more person to worry about. She knew it wasn't healthy to close herself off like this but it was better than the alternative. Better than being betrayed again.

After the fourth time Arthur came knocking, he finally gave up, leaving her in peace as she curled up on her bed to read her magic book. She'd already read it several times over but she was determined to memorize every word. It was sometime later that night, when she was almost asleep, that she heard it. A sound she knew all too well. Merlin was having a nightmare.

Without a moment's hesitation, she ran out of her room and down the hall, throwing open Merlin's door and turning on the light. He was thrashing and kicking, tangling himself in the sheets as he screamed. Margaret ran to him as she heard Arthur running her way. Margaret gripped Merlin's shoulders and he cried out again, his eyes flying open and he sat up in a panic, sobbing.

"Merlin! Wake up! Everything's alright. It was just a nightmare." She wrapped her arms around his shaking form as he burrowed himself against her, his body wracking with sobs. Looking towards the door, Margaret noticed that Arthur was standing in the doorway watching the scene before him with a look that showed he didn't know what was going on. She mouthed the word 'nightmare' to him before turning her attention back to Merlin. "What happened?"

"Ar….Arthur," he sobbed brokenly and she automatically knew what had left him like this. Merlin's nightmare was Arthur dying again. This particular nightmare was fairly common for him and usually made her feel helpless as to how to help him because not two weeks ago, Arthur was still dead and there was no real way to comfort him and tell him it wasn't real. But now…

Margaret looked back at the door. Arthur had moved closer when Merlin choked out his name and she gestured for him to come over. Slowly, he did and carefully sat down on the bed next to them. "It's okay, Merlin. It was just a nightmare." She gently rubbed his back as she reassured him. "Look. Arthur's alive. He's okay."

"I…I'm right here, Merlin," Arthur added.

Merlin's heart wrenching sobs hitched at the sound of Arthur's voice. He pulled away from Margaret slightly and she moved so he could see Arthur. His face was red and wet with tears, his eyes slightly puffy and still flowing with grief. It nearly broke her heart to see him like this. The moment he set his eyes on Arthur, he let go of her entirely and flung his arms around him, crying into Arthur's shoulder. Arthur gently snaked his arms around Merlin's thin form, slowly running a hand through the back of his raven black hair. Margaret sat back to give them a little privacy as Merlin clung tighter to Arthur as if terrified he'd vanish at any moment. Which he probably was.

"Don't be such a girl's petticoat, Merlin. I'm right here," Arthur teased and Margaret raised an eyebrow. She'd never actually seen the old banter between them and wasn't sure that insulting Merlin right now would help matters. But much to her surprise, Merlin let out a small laugh. His sobs began to subside and he took several breaths to calm down. Margaret watched in amazement. Usually, it took her almost an hour for her to calm him down like this. If it had been anyone but Arthur helping Merlin, she might have been jealous.

"Bloody prat." Merlin muttered, sniffling. Arthur held him tighter with a small smile before frowning.

"Merlin, what the hell kind of nightmare scared you so much?" The warlock hid his face further into Arthur's shoulder at the question.

"It...You…you died."

"Yes. But I'm back now, Merlin. I'm not dead anymore." Merlin shook his head slightly.

"No. You don't understand." Merlin slowly pulled away to look at him. "You died again. Someone…someone shot you. I…I tried to…but there was too much blood…and you…" His voice broke off at the end and it was clear that he couldn't continue, else he'd break down again. Margaret noticed Arthur's concerned and confused eyes soften as he watched his friend struggle to keep his emotions in check and wrapped his arms around Merlin again. Starting to feel like a third wheel, Margaret stood up and with a small nod at Arthur, she left the two of them alone to talk.

* * *

Arthur kept his embrace of Merlin long after Margaret left. He felt like Merlin desperately needed it as the warlock certainly didn't show any signs of pulling away. But the whole situation confused him greatly. He, of course, knew that Merlin could get scared. Everyone did. But like this? And over the thought of Arthur dying again?

He was touched, but at the same time, worried. Despite all the times he'd called Merlin a coward, he never once meant it. In fact, he considered Merlin to be the bravest man he'd ever known. And to see him so broken, it shattered his heart. At least now his friend wasn't sobbing anymore, but he was still crying, taking shaky breaths as he curled against Arthur for comfort. Arthur rubbed his back softly, resting his chin on the mop of black hair. At this point, he was fighting back tears of his own. Merlin was always so strong. And he hated to see him like this.

"You should try and get some more sleep, Merlin." Arthur couldn't see his face but felt him shake his head. _Stubborn idiot._ "M_er_lin. It's not even midnight yet. You need to sleep." No answer. He sighed softly. "Do you want me to stay?" Arthur offered, thinking it might help. To assure him that Arthur was still alive, still okay. Slowly, Merlin nodded. So he stayed. It wasn't until an hour later that he felt Merlin's grip on him fall limp, his breathing slow and even. Sure signs that Merlin was finally asleep.

A few stray tears fluttered down Arthur's face and he quickly wiped them away before looking down at Merlin. He looked so young and peaceful when he was asleep; it reminded Arthur of when he first met him all those years ago. A young boy who stood up to him, not caring at all that he was a prince. Long before he was burdened with a destiny and centuries of waiting. Even now, Arthur preferred to think of him that way. Young and innocent. Someone who never suffered, was never hurt or guilt ridden. But he knew that wasn't the truth. Not anymore.

Slowly, so as to not wake Merlin, he shifted around so that they were laying down, but with his arms still around his friend's sleeping form, keeping his promise to stay. It wasn't a very kingly thing to do, but he gently kissed the top of Merlin's head out of care. It had deeply affected the blonde to see his friend like that. It was just so…un-Merlin like. He couldn't think of another way to put it. But then again, Margaret had reacted as if it was a normal occurrence. Like she was used to it. Just how much had Merlin changed over the years? It was with that question on his mind that he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The morning light drifted into the room, waking Merlin softly. He lay there quietly with his eyes still closed as he remembered what happened last night. The nightmare, Arthur holding him and the relief he felt that Arthur was alive. That he hadn't been shot, hadn't died in Merlin's arms. Again. That's when it occurred to him. He could feel arms still wrapped around his thin frame. And a warm breath that was tickling his neck. Opening his eyes, Merlin looked to his right. There was Arthur, sound asleep. His head resting on Merlin's shoulder and arms wrapped securely around him. A small smile pulled at his lips at the fact that Arthur kept his promise to stay. He let out a small puff of air in Arthur's face, making his bed head blonde hair move gently, but Arthur simply groaned irritably, still fast asleep. Merlin scoffed slightly before staring up at the ceiling.

He hadn't meant for Arthur to find out about his nightmares. They'd become a normal occurrence over the years and for the last few of them, it was Margaret who had helped him through them. Before that…no one. He'd wake up in a cold sweat and there was nothing to comfort him, nobody to hold him. Those years, he barely slept at all because of it. But things were different now. He had two people to help him.

Merlin slowly wiggled his way out of Arthur's embrace and got out of the bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked around at his mess of a room. Clothes strewn about the floor and books scattered around. Same as always. At least that part of him was the same. With a flash of his eyes, the curtains drew back from the window, letting the morning light pour in brighter than before and Arthur stirred. Merlin turned to look at him as his eyes slowly opened and searched around before landing on the warlock.

"Merlin. Are you alright?" He could tell that Arthur was genuinely worried after last night.

"I'm fine. I've had worse." Merlin looked back towards his room and his eyes flashed gold again. The clothes flew into the laundry bin and the books placed themselves in the bookcase by the window. He noticed Arthur jump slightly before relaxing.

"I wouldn't call that 'fine', Merlin." Said warlock shrugged, forcing Arthur to sigh loudly. Ignoring Arthur's worried eyes, Merlin took off his night shirt and tossed it aside as he walked towards the closet to change but paused when he heard Arthur gasp. "What the hell happened to you?!" Merlin turned around to see Arthur standing up and staring at him. More specifically, at his torso, and the scars decorating it. _Damn._ He'd completely forgotten that Arthur had never seen his scars before.

"Oh…erm…I just…you know how clumsy I am," Merlin muttered, knowing it was a terrible lie that Arthur wouldn't believe for one second, but it was too early to think of anything better. He turned to walk towards the closet again when he was stopped by Arthur firmly grabbing his arm and forcing Merlin to face him, sharp blue eyes strained with worry and fixed on the scars.

"You don't get marks like that from tripping on a branch." _Of course he's not going to just let it go._ Merlin thought to himself as Arthur pulled him back towards the bed and they sat down on the mattress. He groaned slightly, not wanting to explain every single scar. There were far too many for that and they'd be there all morning. "How the hell did you get these?" Merlin sighed.

"The faintest ones I got while in Camelot. The others are from, well, everywhere I've ever been." Merlin disclosed quickly but Arthur gave him that look that said he wanted more detail. "A few are from bullets, or shrapnel, that's metal that's been fragmented and sent flying," here Arthur winced slightly as he pictured it. "A bayonet or two, swords, arrows, maces, magic, etc. I stopped keeping track of what made what to be honest." Arthur didn't seem to like that answer as he frowned deeply.

"The one in the middle of your chest?" Arthur pointed out. "Looks like a burn." Merlin nodded.

"Nimueh hit me with a fireball." Arthur's eyes widened dramatically.

"You said you fought her. You didn't mention that!" Arthur recalled almost accusingly. "Do…" he started, lowering his voice. "Do you ever get nightmares? About when you got the scars I mean?" Merlin nodded. No use in denying it. These nightmares tended to occur more often than any others but there was no need to tell Arthur that. Merlin noticed him look down with a guilty look on his face. "You shouldn't have had to go through any of that, Merlin. You're not a knight."

"No. But I've been many things over the years. A soldier being one of them." Arthur looked up at this, his blue eyes ridden with worry, concern, and guilt.

* * *

Arthur kept a close eye on Merlin for the rest of the day and the one after. The fact that Merlin had been through so much, not just in Camelot, but afterwards as well; it tormented Arthur to no end. He never wanted Merlin to go through so much hell, to become, well a soldier. A knight even. There was too much danger involved in it. Too many chances to be hurt or killed. And yet, that's what Merlin had become. From protecting him and then waiting for him to return after Camlann. Arthur couldn't help but to feel responsible. All those scars. Because of him.

At least he'd made up with Margaret. After Merlin's nightmare, she'd listened to Arthur's apology and gave one of her own. Arthur was still going to watch her every now and then and ask questions without being too invading or obvious but at least they were talking. But today, she seemed distant. As if something else were bothering her now. After lunch, he caught her on the couch, watching the news. Though he didn't exactly understand what the news was, he'd watched it once or twice but didn't really understand anything so gave up, he knew that Margaret didn't like watching it. Arthur took a seat next to her.

"I thought you hated politics." Arthur commented lightly.

"I do," she replied without looking at him, her eyes fixed on the television.

"Yet you're watching the news."

"Once in a while they show something worth watching that isn't politics." Arthur looked over at the screen and raised his eyebrows.

"It's a debate," he pointed out.

"Yes."

"Isn't that politics?" Margaret sighed loudly but didn't respond. Arthur watched her carefully, noticing that she seemed anxious. Her right leg was bouncing up and down rapidly and she still hadn't looked away from the T.V. A thought occurred to him. "Are you…waiting for something?"

"Maybe." It was Arthur's turn to sigh, deciding to let it go. She was as stubborn as he was. There was no chance at getting anything out of her. Instead he sat quietly and watched the debate with her even though he had no idea what a missile was. A topic that was being frequently brought up between the two people on the screen. Arthur was beginning to get bored when Margaret suddenly jumped off of the couch, cursing under her breath, and turned off the television. "Merlin!" she shouted up the stairs and Arthur simply looked at her as if she'd gone mad, having no clue what was happening. Merlin ran down the stairs. "We need to talk."

"About?"

"Just…sit down and I'll explain." Merlin looked over to Arthur for an explanation, but he was just as lost and shrugged, making a confused face that showed he didn't know what was going on. "Please. You'll want to sit for this." Merlin let out a small breath and sat down next to Arthur and Margaret retook her seat. "There's…more to my visions than I've been letting on. I was just…waiting for the right time to tell you." Arthur glanced over at the T.V. for a second in thought.

"Is that why you were watching the debate?" Arthur guessed and she nodded.

"I was waiting for something I'd seen in one of my visions before I told you…" she explained slowly and hesitated before continuing. "It's about Freya." Arthur felt Merlin stiffen next to him and his mind raced. Freya was the love of Merlin's life, right? _Was_ being the operative word. _Was_ because Arthur had killed her. Something that he had felt horribly guilty about ever since Merlin had told him just over a week ago. He'd tried multiple times to put himself in Merlin's shoes. What if Merlin had killed Guinevere like he killed Freya? Would he be able to forgive Merlin like he forgave Arthur? He was pulled from these thoughts when Merlin found his voice.

"What about her?" the warlock asked with a thick voice. Arthur glanced at his friend for a moment and immediately noticed that his eyes were bright with unshed tears. Margaret too had noticed and gave him a small smile.

"She's coming back."

* * *

After a cup of tea that Margaret had insisted on for some reason, they loaded into the car. As Merlin was practically an emotional wreck and kept dropping the keys, he gave them to Margaret and sat in the back while Arthur sat up front. Margaret had mentioned that she didn't know exactly when Freya was returning but knew that it was either today or tomorrow. If tomorrow, they'd all agreed to stay overnight and sleep in the car. Mostly because Merlin would outright refuse to leave until she was back.

Much to Arthur's surprise, less than 20 minutes after they left the house, Merlin was curled up in the back seat, fast asleep.

"How is he asleep at a time like this?" Arthur commented.

"I'm sure I don't know." Margaret muttered with a light smirk. Arthur knew that look all too well from the amount of times that Morgana had looked at him like that. Before she'd betrayed them all of course.

"What did you do?"

She smiled and glanced over at him. "I may have put something in his tea before we left." Arthur's eyes widened slightly as he looked back at Merlin. He was sprawled over all the seats, laying on his stomach, and one arm dangling to the floor. It was quite adorable and even a little funny to look at.

"You drugged him." Arthur summed up as he turned back towards the front. Margaret hummed in response and looked quite proud of herself. "Why?"

"Because he'd drive himself mad before we even got there if I didn't." Arthur leaned back in his seat and watched her for a moment as she drove. "I'm a bit surprised though."

"About what?"

"He wasn't mad that I waited to tell him. He had every right to be angry. But he wasn't. At all." Arthur looked away, staring out the window. He knew why Merlin hadn't been upset with her. He and Arthur were doing the same to her by not telling her that she was related to Arthur.

"Maybe he understood why you did it. Sometimes…you have to hold back some of the truth. You were trying to protect him." Arthur understood that. If she had told Merlin earlier, he'd work himself into a frenzy when it was probably months before she came back. This way, it was easier for him. So he didn't have to wait. _Like he waited for me._

"Like when he didn't tell you about his magic?"

"Yes." Arthur stayed quiet after that and just watched her drive. He didn't even bother to comment on how they were passing everyone else on the road. Merlin had already told him that she liked to speed and go faster than every single car. Something that Merlin had also told him was illegal but it wasn't like Arthur could drive so he just kept quiet. After a few moments of silence, Margaret reached over and pressed a few buttons and music sounded throughout the car. Arthur jumped a little and looked at the dash. "It that a erm…" he paused trying to remember the word for it. "A…radio?"

"Very good." Margaret smiled and patted his arm in a way that made him feel like she was mocking him. "You're not as stupid as you look." Arthur gave a small sigh and secretly wondered if by default she had just insulted her own looks. He decided she did and smiled.

"Very funny." She smiled back at him. "So. Is there anything else you're not telling us?" Arthur asked to keep up conversation and she shifted in her seat a little but didn't answer. "I'll take that as a yes."

"It can wait. Let's just focus on Freya first."

* * *

**There it is! Again, I'm terribly sorry that this took so long to update. I'll do better next time I promise. Also, I've been writing a few one shots whenever I get writers block on this story. I'll be putting up a pole with different ideas and whichever gets the most votes is the one I'll write.**


	8. Freya

Freya

**I know it's been a little while, but here's chapter 8. It's rather short and there's quite a bit of suggestive comments towards the end, but I rather enjoyed writing this chapter. Anyway, here you go!**

* * *

Whatever it was that Margaret put in Merlin's tea was working extremely well. It took just over two hours to reach the lake despite Margaret's speedy driving, because they'd run into traffic. And Merlin remained asleep through all of the yelling, cursing, hitting the steering wheel, honking, etc. And Arthur could've sworn he saw Margaret's eyes flash gold once or twice. Now, there could be no doubt in his mind. Not after seeing her road rage. Margaret was definitely a Pendragon.

By the time they got to the lake, Margaret had calmed down, but Merlin was still out cold.

"How long before he wakes up?" Arthur asked.

"Awhile," she commented and turned the car off. Arthur looked out the window and shifted slightly in his seat. Not two weeks ago he'd woken up on that same grassy shoreline and his world had been turned upside down. "Are you alright?" Apparently, she had noticed the way he was looking out at the grass that surrounded part of the lake.

"Yeah. Fine." Her eyes locked onto his with a doubtful expression. "It's just…a little unnerving. That's all." She nodded with a small smile.

"This is where Merlin found you, isn't it? Where you woke up?" Arthur gave a small chuckle and ran a hand through his hair before nodding.

"That obvious, is it?"

"Kinda figured," she laughed. "Seeing as you died here. It would only make sense that you came back at the same place." Arthur leaned back in his seat and looked out towards the lake once again. A few minutes of silence passed before Margaret spoke up. "You nervous? About Freya?" He nodded. Arthur had been running it all through his mind over the last two hours. Of course, he was happy for Merlin. This was the love of Merlin's life. But at the same time, he was the one who killed her in the first place. The reason they were separated.

"What do you know about her?" he asked, focusing on Margaret once more. The guilt that he felt over killing Freya sat deep in his heart and he couldn't help but to dread her reaction to seeing him. To come back from the dead and one of the first people to see was the one who killed her. He knew how _he_ would react. Margaret simply shrugged.

"Not much. Only what he's told me. But he never liked to talk about her much. It was…too painful." In the back, Merlin made a small noise in his sleep and shifted his position to lay on his back instead of his stomach. Both of them glanced back at the warlock.

"I still can't believe you drugged him," Arthur stated with a laugh. Margaret quickly joined in, but the noise didn't cause Merlin to stir at all.

* * *

Voices. Two of them. Both were familiar to Merlin, but he couldn't place them just yet. Everything was foggy. His mind was slow to think or make sense of anything, his eyelids heavy, and his mouth was dry. Really dry. Merlin knew what that meant and let out a small groan.

"Who drugged me?" were the first coherent words out of his mouth. In response to his question, he heard a soft chuckle. It was deep in tone and familiar. So familiar.

"That would be your apprentice," answered a voice that he slowly recognized as Arthur. Merlin groaned again and forced his eyes to open, the light from the sun nearly blinding him for a few long seconds. "Good morning, by the way." Arthur chuckled.

"Is it?" he asked, slowly sitting up and leaning against the car door. Merlin ran a hand through his hair tiredly and looked around him as Margaret laughed.

"Sorry. Guess I made it a bit strong," she apologized, still laughing.

"S'Alright," he slurred and let his eyes slip shut as he rested his head back against the window. "It actually helped a little. Heart's not racing anymore," Merlin noted softly. "S'a bit hard to think though," he commented.

"No change there, then." Arthur responded and Merlin opened his eyes to half-heartedly glare at him. But Arthur simply laughed at the look he'd received and Merlin couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at his lips and let out a chuckle of his own.

"Did I miss anything?" Both Margaret and Arthur shook their heads. "Good." The last thing he'd want was to not be awake at the time that Freya returned. More than anything, he wanted to be the first face for her to see. The image in his mind of seeing her again widened the smile on his lips.

"Should be soon though," Margaret stated and he sat up a little straighter, blinking rapidly to try and quickly clear the fog in his head and wake up completely. His heart picked up a little bit and the butterflies reentered his stomach like they had yesterday. "You think you're ready?" Merlin gave a small and hesitant smile.

"Do I have a choice about that?"

"Don't think so," she responded with a sympathetic smile. Merlin didn't know why he was so nervous about this. He had no reason to be anxious. It was Freya. She was coming back. They could finally be together. Merlin took a deep breath before answering.

"Then yes, I am."

* * *

Arthur watched Merlin carefully as he slowly woke up from being drugged and could physically see the nerves take over. The way he shifted in his seat constantly. Adjusted his hair multiple times. Picked at invisible specks on his clothes. It was rather endearing to watch, Merlin fixing his hair almost like a lovesick girl. Arthur couldn't help but to think that it was nice to see Merlin being the idiot that he was so used to seeing. But finally, it got to the point that Arthur just had to say something to him.

"You look fine, Merlin." The warlock paused in his self-grooming to glance up at him. "There's only so many ways you can fix your hair," Arthur mocked with a teasing smile. Merlin made a face at him before running his hands through his hair again. Arthur glanced over at Margaret with an incredulous laugh. "He is such a girl." She looked back at Merlin and gave a small laugh of her own.

"I think it's sweet," she smiled and Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes. Eventually he got bored of watching Merlin and looked out towards the lake. The water was calm and even. But a ripple disrupted the surface, starting in the center of the lake, and started moving their way.

"Merlin," Arthur muttered and the warlock shifted in his seat to look out the window to where he pointed. A second later Merlin was out of the car and running towards the shore. Margaret and Arthur quickly followed him. Eventually a head broke the surface of the water, then a body. A beautiful young woman in a purple dress that Arthur could've sworn he'd seen before waded towards them. Merlin ran towards the edge of the lake to meet her and threw his arms around her soaking wet form.

"Freya," he heard Merlin whisper.

"Hello, Merlin." Freya laughed into the warlock's shoulder before shivering when the breeze kicked up. Merlin immediately pulled away from her to shrug off his jacket and wrap it around her before hugging her again and keeping her close to him.

"Better?" She nodded with a small smile. Then Merlin pulled away just enough to look down at her and then kissed her passionately. Arthur's eyes widened and he noticed Margaret smirk at the sight in front of them. Merlin eventually pulled away and turned back towards them with a light blush on his cheeks. "Arthur, Margaret, this is Freya." This was the part that Arthur had been dreading. Speaking to her. Freya looked away from Merlin and her eyes locked with Arthur's.

"Freya. I've…heard a lot about you," Arthur began nervously, though he'd never admit it out loud to anyone. "I'm…I'm sorry. For what I did to you." He quietly held his breath as he waited for the anger or fear to appear on her face. But much to his surprise, she smiled at him.

"Arthur Pendragon. You've nothing to apologize for," she assured him. "I didn't really leave you much of a choice." Of all the reactions he had expected, forgiveness was not one of them. Hatred, sure. Anger, yes. Fear, definitely. But this?

"You and Merlin really are perfect for each other." Merlin blushed again in response and Freya laughed before looking at Margaret. It was clear to Arthur from the way she glanced between him and Margaret that she knew about the relation between them.

"And you would be Margaret," Freya noted and Margaret nodded. "Your magic is remarkably powerful. It's a good thing that Merlin found you when he did." Margaret's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Really?" she asked in a curious tone.

"I could sense it from the lake," Freya answered before shivering again. It seemed that Merlin's jacket wasn't quite enough to keep her completely warm. Not surprising as she was dripping wet and it was cold enough outside to begin with without the skin biting wind that was kicking up.

"Let's get her to the car before she freezes to death." Merlin muttered to them before quickly leading Freya up the hill to where the car was parked, his arm around her. Arthur watched curiously as he and Margaret started to follow after them.

"That's going to take a while to get used to." Arthur whispered quietly, mostly to himself but Margaret had heard him and smiled.

"What? Merlin with a girl?" He nodded and she giggled quietly. When they got to the car, Merlin sat in the back with Freya curled up against him for warmth, still shivering. Merlin had both arms wrapped around her and was running his hands up and down her arms to try and warm her up as she hid against his chest. Arthur sat up front with Margaret so the two of them could have some privacy.

* * *

Margaret turned the car on and immediately blasted the heat and pointed all of the vents towards the back to help warm Freya up. God knows she needed the heat as she was curled up so close to Merlin she was practically on his lap and shivering violently. Poor girl. She was still wearing Merlin's jacket and he had his arms wrapped around her, clearly trying to share his body heat with her. Within a minute the car was heated up and Freya's shivering subsided, giving a small sigh as she enjoyed the warmth but remained cuddled with Merlin. He didn't seem to mind though. He sent Margaret a thank you in her mind, a trick he'd been helping her learn as it was something those with magic could do. _No problem,_ she thought back to him as she turned onto the road.

The drive home was relatively quiet. She had the radio on to listen to her favorite station. Arthur took turns staring out the window and staring at the couple in the back. Margaret would often look at them in her rear view mirror. Freya had her eyes closed and was cocooned in Merlin's embrace with her head on his chest. Merlin spent the whole ride watching Freya with a smile on his face, occasionally kissing the top of her head. Margaret couldn't remember ever seeing Merlin so…happy. Completely content and relaxed, like nothing could possibly go wrong. He really looked as if he were the happiest man on Earth. It was incredible to see him like that. And he certainly deserved to be happy after all the things he'd been through.

Thankfully there was no traffic today so they were home within an hour thanks to Margaret's speedy driving. The minute she pulled into the drive way, Merlin gently woke Freya up and helped her into the house and the two of them disappeared upstairs. Margaret plopped herself onto the couch with a knowing smirk and turned on the television as Arthur sat down next to her. She was starting to get used to him following her around and spending most of his time with her.

"So where's Freya going to stay?" he asked, glancing up the stairs and Margaret had to stop herself from laughing as she surfed through the channels.

"Well, this is a pretty large house and we still have several extra rooms that nobody is sleeping in. But, I think that she'll be staying with Merlin." Margaret hinted with a wink and put on a show about wild police chases.

"But he's only got one bed." Arthur noted and Margaret sighed loudly. She paused the TV and glared at him. _He was married wasn't he? How can he not realize what I'm saying?_

"Alright, I'm only going to explain this once, so pay close attention." Arthur nodded so she continued. "He loves her. She loves him. She's been dead and they've been separated for almost two thousand years. Now, to anyone with common sense, the two of them being reunited will technically end in one thing. Just think about it." Arthur opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him. "Now, shut up so we can watch TV or I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to Lucifer. Your choice." He did and said cat meowed as she wandered into the living room, jumping on his lap so he could pet her.

Neither of them really saw Merlin or Freya for two whole days after they returned from the lake. A few times each day, Merlin would sneak into the kitchen for food and drinks, but that was about it. Margaret had noticed and couldn't help but smile to herself about it. But she wasn't the only one who noticed. It seemed Arthur had a brain as well, mostly, and mentioned it while the two of them were eating lunch at the table.

"What could they possibly be doing in that room for two days?" Margaret smirked at his question and sipped at her coffee before answering.

"Do I really need to explain that to you? You're an adult. I'm sure you know what they're doing."

"Well sure. But…two days?!" he exasperated.

"There's a lot you can do while alone with someone in a room that has a bed. Even for that long, Arthur. Just use your imagination. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Arthur watched her with a curious look on his face before responding.

"Like you would know." Margaret almost choked on her coffee and tried not to die from laughter.

"I would in fact as I too am an adult. Remember? Twenty two. I've had my fair share of long nights." Their conversation was then interrupted by a half dressed Merlin walking into the room. He was shirtless with a pair of boxer shorts on and his hair was incredibly messed up. Arthur's jaw nearly dropped off of his face and Margaret repressed a giggle as Merlin froze slightly in place when he noticed they were in the room before walking over to the kitchen. "Look who finally shows their face. Been having fun?" she teased, which caused Merlin to blush as he opened the fridge.

"Oh, shut up. Can't I get some food for Freya in peace? Without you making jokes or innuendoes?"

"Nope." Margaret smiled. "And what's the matter? Can't Freya walk down here herself to get something to eat?" She didn't think it was possible, but Merlin's blush deepened dramatically.

"Erm…no." he muttered quickly. Arthur's eyes widened and Margaret laughed.

"Oh, good boy," she smiled. With an even deeper blush, Merlin quickly grabbed a container of strawberries and retreated out of the dining room/kitchen and headed upstairs. Arthur groaned loudly and slammed his head down on the table.

"I really didn't need that image in my head, Margaret."

"It was fun to see him blush like that though," she grinned widely and Arthur groaned again and hit his head on the table a few more times as if trying to get the mental image out of his mind. "Yeah, that won't work, dear."

* * *

**Well that chapter was a lot of fun to write so I hope you all enjoyed reading it. A quick note that I edited the first few chapters in case you'd want to go back and reread them. Please R&amp;R and as always, my inbox is open in case you have questions or suggestions.**

**Also I have a poll up on my profile about what kind of one-shot I should write next.**

**Love you all, I'll be updating again soon.**


	9. Rest For The Wicked

**Hey look! A chapter that is somewhat on time. That's basically a first. To be honest, it's probably because I found this chapter to be extremely easy to write. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Either way, this chapter doesn't have anything angsty. Just pure happy!Merlin and bromance. And a bit of a hint involving my character and her *cough* interests. Enough of my chitter chatter! Here's chapter 9!**

* * *

Merlin was undeniably happy for once. He looked down at Freya sleeping in his arms and couldn't wipe the smile from his face. Yes, things in the world were most likely going to be pretty horrible soon. But Arthur was back, and Freya was safe and alive. It was more than he could ask for. And the best part, Freya's curse was gone. It died with her and did not return.

That first night, she had been so excited about not changing anymore that both of them stay up well past midnight to enjoy her freedom. They talked, cuddled, kissed, and did other things to pass the time. This went on for two days and ended with where they were now. With Freya asleep in his arms after enjoying a snack of strawberries that he'd took from the fridge while being smirked at by Margaret.

He studied Freya's features as she slept peacefully. Her long black hair that flowed well past her shoulders. The slim yet full structure of her face. How long her eyelashes looked on her pale skin. The slow and even pace of her breathing. All of it was just so beautiful to him.

Eventually, Merlin fell into a light sleep with a sense of content from Freya curled onto his chest. He awoke from his nap a few hours later when Freya shifted in her sleep with a whimper. Looking down at her, he noticed the grimace on her features. It quickly became clear to him that she was in the throes of a nightmare. Merlin sat up a little and wrapped his arms around her small figure, gently trying to shake her awake.

"Freya," he whispered. When she did not stir, he shook her a little more and she took a sharp breath, her eyes flying open. Merlin could see the panic in them. "Hey. It's alright. I'm here, Freya. You're okay." Freya looked up at him with tears in her eyes and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I…I changed again. And you were hurt," she cried, taking heavy breaths. His hold on her tightened and he soothingly rubbed her back as she clung to him.

"That's not going to happen. I promise. Everything's going to be fine," Merlin whispered and Freya nodded, curling closer into his embrace. She started to calm after a few minutes as he held her. "I love you." Freya looked up at him with a broad but teary smile. He wiped the salty tears from her cheeks and she kissed him softly.

"I love you too, Merlin."

* * *

It was on the third day of Freya's return that Arthur had his first one on one encounter with her.

He'd woken early that morning and headed downstairs to get some food from the kitchen. What he hadn't expected was to see Freya making two cups of tea wearing one of Merlin's button ups. Only the button up. Arthur froze in the door way, shifting his weight slowly from side to side, unsure of what to do when she turned around.

"Hello, Arthur." She smiled at him and poured some cream into the cups.

"Hi…" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he tried to think of something to say. "You're wearing Merlin's shirt." Yes, because stating the obvious makes for perfect conversation. Fantastic, now he was becoming Merlin. Who knew idiocy was contagious.

"Yes, I am," she laughed. Unlike you, my return was not expected so I don't have any clothes here for me. Besides, I don't think he minds." Freya turned back to the cups as Arthur remained where he was.

"Speaking of Merlin, is erm…is he awake?" he asked and finally moved, but only to stand next to the fridge.

"Not yet. So I thought I'd surprise him with tea when he does wake." Arthur nodded slowly before pausing and squinting his eyes in confusion.

"So, you…already know how to use…" Arthur raised his hands to gesture around the kitchen. "All of this?" Freya nodded and laughed.

"Also unlike you, I was able to watch the world progress after I died. I'm already familiar with technology." Arthur nodded again and made several attempts to say something but no words came out. When she mentioned her death, he found himself at a loss for any words and guilt settled into his heart. Freya mixed some sugar cubes with the tea before glancing over at him. "You know, this'll only be as awkward as you make it. I share no hard feelings for what happened." Arthur blinked several times.

"But…I killed you," he stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which, technically it was. Arthur couldn't quite understand how she was fine with that fact. It was entirely confusing to him that she didn't feel anger towards him, when by all rights, she should. Freya turned her attention away from the tea to face him. Her expression was what confused Arthur the most. It seemed to be a mixture of scolding and sympathy. She pursed her lips for several moments before speaking.

"Arthur, the life you took from me…was a cursed one. Every night, I was put through the unbearable pain of transformation and killed innocent people. Then I'd have to live with the guilt the next day, only for the process to be repeated over and over again. The one good thing that happened to me was Merlin." Arthur couldn't help but notice how her face softened when she spoke Merlin's name. "And dying…stopped the curse. I'm no longer bound to a terrible, murderess life. The way I see it, Arthur…the witch that cursed me is the one that killed me. But you set me free." Freya let Arthur think about that as she grabbed the two cups of tea. "Now, how about you do away with the guilt ridden face," she smiled. "It makes you look like a kicked puppy." With that, she walked past him, trying not to laugh and headed upstairs.

His eyes followed her before she disappeared from sight and he was left even more speechless than before. A sense of understanding flooded through him and he leaned back against the fridge. He'd never thought of it in that perspective before. But the more Arthur thought about it, the more it made sense to him and he could see why she did not hate him for killing her. Yes, it separated her from Merlin, but she wasn't suffering anymore. Relief replaced the guilt in his heart and he smiled as the sound of footsteps reached his ears and Margaret walked in.

"Hot damn. Merlin is one lucky man." Margaret commented as she walked past him and took a glass from the cupboard. "Did you see Freya?" Arthur nodded. "If she and Merlin weren't together, I'd be flirting with her till kingdom come." And for the third time that day, Arthur was speechless.

* * *

As Freya didn't have anything to wear except the purple dress, Margaret let her borrow an outfit and took her shopping. Which left Merlin and Arthur home alone. Once Merlin had dressed, he headed downstairs with a broad smile on his face. He found Arthur alone in the living room, watching TV, and sat down next to him.

"Hello, prat," he grinned. Arthur turned to him.

"Look at you, all happy and smiling," Arthur commented to Merlin. "It's appalling." Merlin smiled wider at the comment.

"Can you blame me?" Merlin asked with a laugh, leaning back against the sofa and closing his eyes. "The last few days have been amazing."

"I'm sure." Arthur noted and rolled his eyes. "I take it Freya will be sharing your room permanently, then?" Merlin blushed as he opened his eyes and playfully hit Arthur in the arm.

"Oh, shut up. You're just as bad as Margaret." Merlin couldn't stop the blush on his face as he half-heartedly glared at Arthur. But it didn't seem to intimidate Arthur as he just laughed at Merlin.

"That wasn't a no," Arthur smiled. "But in all seriousness, I'm happy for you. It's clear that you two care for each other. And more than anybody I've known, you deserve to have someone who makes you this happy." Merlin watched him carefully for several moments, not quite sure how to respond.

"Who are you and what have you done with Arthur?" Merlin asked with a small smile.

"I'm serious, Merlin." Arthur said with an incredulous smile. "I know I've never given you much credit and I've mocked you endlessly. But it's nice to see you so happy like this." Arthur's smile turned into a grin. One that Merlin didn't trust for one second. But before he had a chance to react, Arthur had a strong hold around Merlin's neck with his arm and was giving him a nuggy.

"Ow! Arthur…gah…gerrof me!" Merlin yelled, uselessly trying to get out of Arthur's hold on him. Finally, with a laugh, Arthur let go of him. "You prat!" Merlin complained with a huff, gently touching his now sore head.

"I don't see what you're moaning about." Arthur laughed. "You could've used magic to stop me. But then again, you always were an idiot." Merlin smiled at that as an idea came to him. Arthur was going to regret mentioning magic. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and Arthur started to float off the sofa with a yelp. "Merlin, what are you-Merlin put me down!" Arthur shouted and swung his arms wildly as he floated higher and started to flip upside down. "Merlin!" The warlock in question laughed as he stood up. Once Arthur was completely upside down, Merlin held the blonde's head in place and raked his knuckles across Arthur's scalp several times before his eyes flashed gold again and Arthur fell to the floor with another shout of surprise.

"What's the matter, Arthur? You're a trained knight. Surely you'd be able to use your fighting skills to stop me," Merlin mocked with a smile. Arthur growled and stood up. Merlin ran.

* * *

Margaret and Freya returned later that day with several bags of clothes floating through the door and up the stairs to Merlin and Freya's room.

"Did the two of you have fun?" Merlin asked when they walked into the living room.

"Yes!" Freya smiled and kissed him, causing Margaret to smirk and Arthur to stare. Freya stood back slightly to take in Merlin's appearance. His hair was damp and messy, his clothes were rumpled and damp as well, and Freya noticed that Arthur looked about the same. Not to mention the living room looked like a tornado tore through it. "Did you and Arthur behave while we were gone?" she asked, already knowing the answer was no.

"Freya, when have you ever known me to behave?" Merlin grinned and kissed her again.

"Oh, get a room." Margaret teased.

* * *

Done! This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I know there may be questions as to what happened to make Arthur and Merlin look like that. Let's just say they were horseplaying around after the nuggy incident. I'm actually thinking of writing a quick one-shot with all that those two goofballs did. What do you all think?

Please review!


	10. Not Jeff

**I know, this is late. I deeply apologize. I really don't have a good excuse this time. This chapter has actually been done for at least 3 weeks, I just hadn't typed it up or edited till my lovely friend got on my back so thank her for the update :D**

**Anyway, here's the chapter.**

* * *

The next week had been, for the most part, uneventful. Margaret spent most of her time on the phone with Jeff and Merlin spent every day with Freya. Leaving Arthur free to do whatever he wanted. Which unfortunately left him alone with his own thoughts. Something he'd been avoiding actually.

He'd sit and watch Merlin and Freya. Whenever he did, Arthur's thoughts were back in Camelot, with Guinevere. Arthur missed her more than he could say. He missed everyone for that matter. His people, the knights, Gaius. Hell, he even missed Morgana. Especially when he was around Margaret. She was just so much like her. The old her, the Morgana he had grown up with who was kind and compassionate.

Some days, he felt a slight twinge in his heart when talking to Margaret, or even just spending time with her. Each time, she would say or do something, and his thoughts drifted to Morgana. Arthur would look at her and see the sister that he had lost.

Then there was how much he missed Guinevere. It hurt to know that he would never see her again. When he was in Camlann, Arthur had been prepared for it, but because it was him who would be dead. Instead, the roles had been reversed. Every night was lonely and every day was incomplete.

It was difficult. Life was moving on, the world growing and moving forward every second; but Arthur still felt stuck in the past. So he spent most of his time trying to catch up with the world. Margaret was slowly teaching him how to use his phone, the internet, even got him his own laptop. It helped him learn the history he'd missed. For the most part. That was until she introduced him to YouTube. Cat videos and clumsy children were a great distraction. And then she gave him a list of movies to watch. A long one. Starting with Disney.

Arthur had quickly figured out that Margaret was in charge of helping him adjust to modern life. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing as her focus seemed to be on pointless trivia. She even quizzed him on the names of the Dwarves from Snow White. The worst part, she quizzed him through text messages. It was almost as if she were purposely trying to torture him.

He was sitting on the sofa with Merlin and Freya when he received another text message. Arthur read it and groaned. "Merlin, name a song from…The Lion King." Yes, it was cheating. No, he didn't care.

"You were supposed to watch that yesterday," Merlin noted with a smirk.

"Merlin," Arthur groaned irritably.

"I just can't wait to be King," Merlin answered and sighed while Arthur texted Margaret the answer. "She's going to figure out that I'm giving you the answers, you know."

"Not if you don't tell her," Arthur commented and glared at him, causing Freya to laugh.

"The two of you are ridiculous."

* * *

Merlin wandered upstairs to find Margaret cleaning up one of the spare rooms. "What are you doing?" he asked, stepping into the room.

"I'm cleaning," Margaret stated. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"I can see that, but why?" Nobody's using this room." Margaret didn't answer him as she put sheets on the bed. Then again, she didn't always need to with Merlin. He could often tell what she was thinking or when something was on her mind. _'What aren't you telling me?'_ Merlin thought to her. He didn't use telepathy with her that much, usually only doing so in emergencies. But he needed to know what was up with her and he knew that it would get her attention. Of course, Merlin knew that she had secrets she wanted to remain secret. He had a few himself. But he still wanted her to be able to confide in him.

"I want to bring Jeff over tonight," she answered out loud and Merlin paused, staring at her. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd heard her right.

"Jeff? Isn't he the guy you went out with?" Margaret nodded and Merlin was more than a little surprised. She never wanted him to meet the men she was with. So what changed?

"Except, his name isn't Jeff."

* * *

"Has she told you his name yet?" Arthur asked when Merlin told him the news.

"No. She said it's going to be a surprise," Merlin commented with a sigh.

"Fun," Arthur muttered.

"What's fun?" Freya asked as she walked into the living room with a bowl of strawberries and took a seat next to Merlin who gave her a quick kiss before explaining.

"Margaret's bringing a guy home." Merlin told her. Everyone kept checking the time several every few minutes until there was a knock at the door. Margaret practically flew downstairs to open it and told them all to wait in the living room. Arthur wasn't particularly anxious about meeting the guy. But that changed when a very familiar person walked into the living room, followed by Margaret. Out of all the things he expected, this was not it.

"Percival."

* * *

**That was chapter 10! Chapter 11 is being written. A lot of it will be Percival's pov so it's a bit difficult but I'm working on it. **

**As always, read and review, let me know what you liked or (hopefully not) hated. And my inbox is always open to suggestions.**


	11. Camelot Part One

**I am so sorry this took so long. I really don't have any good excuses. But here it is. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was pretty much a given that Percival was moving in. No wonder Margaret had been cleaning up the spare room. According to Percival, he had simply woken up in modern times, young again as he died at a ripe old age of 87 and made a small life himself over the last year or so. And he was quite handy at computers, making most of his money through hacking.

To Arthur, he didn't care how it happened, just that it did. It gave him someone who had an understanding of what he was going through. And it was a little bit of home, having one of the knights around. Then there was the fact that Percival was actually very good at technology and could teach Arthur how to use it much better than Margaret could. The days went by much easier. And Percival told him more about Camelot than Merlin did, which Arthur was grateful for.

Turned out, Gwaine and Percival had both known about Merlin's magic. Gwaine figured it out. Percival had overheard a conversation between Merlin and Lancelot about his magic. Leon had suspected it but didn't outright know.

* * *

Gwaine wasn't doing well. He hadn't woken since he'd passed out. Percival had carried him all the way back to Camelot. Merlin and Arthur had not yet returned and there was no further word on Morgana. According to Gaius, Gwaine had but a few days left. Only a powerful sorcerer could save him at this point. Where the hell was Merlin?

Percival had long since known about Merlin's magic. It was so obvious; he was surprised no one had found out about it yet. Then again, Percival had found out by sheer luck. He had found out when he had overheard Merlin and Lancelot's conversation about going after the cup the night before they went to take Camelot back from Morgana and Morgause. He never said anything about it of course. Never mentioned that he knew. It wasn't really his business and he didn't mind it. The only person he discussed it with was Gwaine. But that's only because he also knew. He'd figured it out on his own and the two of them often talked about it in secret. And now Merlin's magic was Gwaine's only hope.

Percival sat with him while Gaius mixed herbs together. "You're sure that magic is the only thing that'll help him?"

"I'm afraid so. A very powerful magic at that," Gaius explained, sitting down. "There's too much damage to fix by normal means."

"Could really use Merlin right about now, then." Percival commented and Gaius visibly stiffened. "It's alright. I've known for years." Gaius relaxed, but only slightly. Several quiet moments passed before Percival spoke up again. "He's Emrys, isn't he?" Gaius stared at him for a few seconds before answering.

"How do you know that name?"

"Village I grew up in. A group of Druids lived near it. Used to tell us stories about him. It is true that he was born with magic?"

"Yes," Gaius nodded. "Do any of the others know or is it only you?"

"Gwaine," Percival responded and Gaius nodded before a knock came at the door.

"Come in."

Guinevere walked in. "Any change?"

Gaius shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my lady. I've done what I can to make him comfortable but without a very powerful magic, he will not recover." Guinevere nodded slowly, looking solemn. She stayed silent for a moment in thought.

"Percival, will you excuse us? I need to speak with Gaius alone, if you don't mind." Percival nodded in silent agreement and moved to leave before Gaius stopped him.

"It's alright, my lady. He knows about Merlin," Gaius informed her and Guinevere relaxed, catching Percival's eye. He wondered how long she had known.

"I see. Gaius, any idea when he'll be back?" Gwen asked but the old physician shook his head. At that moment, Percival decided to take his leave of them. There was nothing he could do sitting at Gwaine's bedside. He figured he'd be of better use to await Merlin's arrival so that when the young man did return, Percival would waste no time in getting him to Gwaine.

The tall knight walked quietly through the solemn corridors, making his way to a large window that over looked the court yard. Percival stood silently, waiting. He did not know when Merlin would return but he was determined to wait as long as it took.

Fortunately, his wait was not long. Within a few hours the slim figure of Merlin could be seen entering the courtyard. His head was down, his feet were sluggish and he had a defeated look to him. But most of all, he was alone. Arthur was not with him. Percival knew what that meant but put that horrible thought away till later as he ran his way down the stairs, out the door, and down the front steps to meet him.

"Merlin! Thank god you're back!" Percival shouted but the raven haired man didn't look up at him and seemed determined to walk right past him. "You're needed in the Physician's Chambers immediately." Still no response. "Merlin, it's Gwaine." Merlin's head snapped up to meet his gaze and Percival could see the hints of panic entering those blue depths. Without another word, Merlin took off running to Gaius' chambers and Percival followed after him. Leon soon caught sight of them and caught up to them.

"Merlin, where's Arthur?" The boy didn't answer as he continued running. Both Percival and Leon shared a look as they followed. Within minutes, the three of them burst into Gaius' chambers, causing both the old man and Guinevere to jump. Gaius looked relieved at the sight of Merlin but the Queen was clearly anxious.

"Merlin! Where is Arthur?" she asked but once again the boy did not answer as he ran to Gwaine's side.

"What happened to him?" Merlin asked quickly.

"Morgana," Gaius replied, standing up to let Merlin have room to work. "She used a Nathair on him to find out where you were."

Merlin nodded. "She found us." Everyone in the room shifted nervously. "She's been dealt with. Morgana is no longer a threat…"

"You're sure?" Gaius asked quietly to which Merlin gave a quick nod. After a few moments of silence Guinevere gave the Physician a look before glancing at Leon.

"Gaius has informed us that only one thing can save Gwaine at this point. What happens in this room is not to be mentioned to anyone else unless I allow it to be said. As far as I'm aware, all but Leon know." Merlin glanced back at all of them with a justifiably confused look on his face. Leon also looked rather confused.

"My lady?" the knight asked to which Guinevere turned to him.

"Sir Leon. I know and understand the laws of Camelot. However, in this case I am making an exception," Guinevere explained quietly and looked at Merlin. The warlock looked back at her before glancing around. When his glance met Percival's, the knight gave him a reassuring smile. He could tell by the look in Merlin's eyes that he knew his secret was known and was apprehensive. But the servant relaxed when he realized that Percival was openly accepting him.

"Gwen-" Merlin started but the Queen interrupted him.

"It's alright, Merlin. You don't have to explain. But please. Gwaine will die if you don't," Guinevere noted. Merlin looked back at the unconscious knight and nodded. Carefully, he placed his hands over Gwaine's body. Percival noticed Leon's concerned look when their eyes met and gave him a nod.

"_Stéor brægen æfwyrdelsa ágíeman æfwerdla_," Merlin muttered and his eyes flashed a bright gold. Out of the corner of his eye, Percival noticed Leon shift uncomfortably. For the first few moments, nothing happened. Then Gwaine started to stir and opened his eyes.

* * *

**And there it is. Again I'm so sorry this took so long for me to update, I'll try to do better.**

**By the way, the spell means 'Fix brain injury, repair damage'**

**Remember, please leave comments, I love reading them!**


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